Product Description
The first book in the Newmarket Shooting Script Series reissued with new material to coincide with the Warner Bros. theatrical re-release and special 10th anniversary DVD launch of this modern classic.

This expanded edition draws from the many new extras that are being created for the DVD, including 90 minutes of commentary by Darabont, documentary material on the making of the film, and a tribute parody of the film.

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, is an extraordinary tale of hope and survival inside a maximum security prison. Based on a Stephen King novella, Frank Darabont's screenplay follows the complex twenty-year relationship between two convicts who have little in common—except friendship.

Darabont personally wrote and/or assembled all of the content in The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script, as follows:

• Introductions by King and Darabont on the movie's genesis
• The shooting script in its original form ("the one I wrote, the one Castle Rock decided to make, the one my cast and crew dealt with every day")
• Detailed analysis of script-to-screen changes (26 pages) showing why and how scenes were cut, and how some scenes were handled technically
• Two storyboard sequences, with commentary
• Stills section (35 photos)
• Afterword by Darabont about his experience in Hollywood ("It took me nine years of saving, struggling, and honing my craft before I started making my living as a writer.")
• 35 b/w photos, plus storyboards

Customer Reviews (16)

Extra-info makes it complete
I bought this for my husband and he enjoyed it more than he thought he would.He especially appreciated what Stephen King had to say.

Shawshank Shooting Script-KC review
Wonderful! Very insightful and informative. A great addition to anyone's bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

Excellent study guide of Shawshank Redemption
This is an excellent book to aid in the understanding of Shawshank Redemption, whether studying english or mass media.
I found the book to contain additional details on story boards and amended scenes, which indicate the way the script writer, Frank Darabont, adapted the story to film.
Thoroughly enjoyed the script, especially as I can read it in places I can't view the film, i.e. work.

Great in depth exploration
As a rule, don't buy shooting scripts if you want to write a screenplay.Shooting scripts are finished products.

That said, screenwriters can learn from this exploration of the classic movie (yes, folks, it is a classic, it's been shown a billion times on TNT), by reading the deleted scenes (my personal favorite is one about the publicity of Warden Norton's prison-to-work scheme, in which Heywood, played in the movie by William Sadler, gets his best and sharpest lines for someone who's supposed to be the dunce of the movie), the storyboards, the explanations of which scenes were kept, etc.

And for people who just love the movie, it's a must-own.

A great buy for any film student or "Shawshank..." lover
As Frank Darabont says in the introduction of the book, who else would buy the screenplay unless they really want to know more about the film? Sticking to that idea, Darabont has given the film student/buff, and those who simply love the movie, a real treat with this book. Not only does it contain the screenplay, it's the screenplay (I emphasize) AS IT WAS WRITTEN BEFORE FILMING. He's published it exactly as he wrote it when he adapted it from King's novella. I point this out because, as Darabont himself points out in the intro, so many screenplays that are thrown out by merchandise wizards are nothing but the finished movie transcribed. And really, what good is that to someone who wants a deeper knowledge of the film?
Not only does he give us the original screenplay, he gives us a scene-by-scene comparison of the screenplay vs. the finished film, and why things got changed/added/left out. This, in particular, says a lot about Darabont to me. This is a man who wants to use his work not only to be what it is (a GREAT film), but to educate as well. This book inspires. He includes storyboards, as well (including a storyboard for a deleted scene- oh, goody, goody!) and introductions by both himself and Stephen King, and a summarizing bit of advice to budding filmmakers and screenwriters. I devoured this book in short time (one night), lol, and found myself going back to the film to compare and analyze- if you don't do the same after reading it, I'll eat my foot.. okay, maybe not. But something drastic, I warrant you. If you are at all inclined to learn about filmmaking, writing, or even if you just love "The Shawshank Redemption" (which is what lead me to the book in the first place), this is a real must-have. It's worth the price alone just to read what he had to say about filming Freeman's scene walking through the field after discovering Andy's message. Trust me. By the way, fellow "Shawshank..." lovers are welcome to ...discuss it. Enjoy this book, everyone. It's a real find. And I'm SO glad I chose to buy it. The ONLY reason I give it four stars as opposed to five is because, personally, I would have liked to have seen more storyboards. ... Read more

Product Description
Visiting North Carolina's lush Crystal Coast, Judge Deborah Knott becomes aware of stirring hostility between local fisherfolk and developers and discovers the murdered body of a man who had served as a peacemaker between the two groups. Reprint. NYT. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Developers vs Preservationists
Judge Deborah Knott is not Travis McGee, but Margaret Maron puts up a strong case against random development with SHOOTING AT LOONS.
The story quickly evolves into finding a lost romance and discovering a killer before said friend goes to jail for murder.
The judge travels to the lush NC coast for a working vacation, but rest isn't on the agenda.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS.

OK, not great
The author did a good job of setting the scene and protraying the geographic area. The characters were interesting; since I know next-to-nothing about this area, I can't say whether the characters were realistic.

The mystery aspect left me pretty cold. It's hard for me to believe that a murder in such a small community didn't generate much more than casual discussions. Seems like it would have been a bigger deal. The ending/resolution was much too rushed and seemed to come out of left field.

That said, I'm willing to try this author again sometime.

Good Mystery
Shooting at Loons (Deborah Knott Mysteries)
I just found this series and this is the second book I have read. I have been trying to read the book in order. At first, I loved "Bootlegger's Daughter" but thought I would stop at that book but couldn't get Deborah out of my mind. I have continued with these wonderful books. "Shooting at Loons" was a good cozy book with great charactors. I can't wait to read the next books. I have ordered "Southern Discomfort" which was the second in this series and then hope to find the other in order of publishing date. I recommend this series highly.

Good Mystery
I liked the way Margaret Moran continues with the life of Debarah Knott and how she copes with family and being a judge.

looney tunes
This was another enjoyable read; she introduces the reader to a character from Deborah's past, and a future character.The dialog is interesting, as well.Great continuation of a great series! ... Read more

Product Description
The Shooting Party wraps a story of concealed love and fatal jealousy into a classic murder mystery. When a young woman dies during a shooting party at the country estate of a dissolute count, a magistrate is called to investigate. But suspicion descends upon virtually everyone, for, as we soon learn, the victim was at the center of a tangled web of relationships—with her elderly husband, with the lecherous count, and with the magistrate himself. One of Anton Chekhov’s earliest experiments in fiction, this short, riveting novel prefigures the mature style he would develop in his magnificent stories and plays. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

the roaring lake
I enjoyed this novel a lot. The characters are generally dishonourable and the solution to who committed the crime is quite obvious (the editorial 'notes' were probably unnecessary for most readers). But there are surprises along the way. And, perhaps, an understanding that some personality disorders will have bad outcomes.

Like all Russian writers Chekhov does employ some strong symbolic images, mostly of a negative kind. The dying woodcock at the shooting party was so strong for me. 'The girl in red', so central to the action, was less clear in her first appearance anyway. But the one that does stand out so strongly, so forbodingly, was the lake that at times 'roared' - I'm not actually sure how a lake can roar - perhaps it was in the mind of the narrator only.

other recommendations:
'The Idiot' - Dostoevsky
'First Love' - Turgenev
'The Tartar Steppe' - Buzatti
'Solaris' - the film version of Lem's novel, produced by Tarkovsky

FROM HIS SECOND DRAWER
Chekhov's "The Shooting Party" (1884/5), his only long novel, is a work of hisimmaturity, following the early stories for pulp magazines that launched his writing career but were later derided by him as juvenile, and four years before his novella "The Steppe," rightly considered his entry into serious literature. It is a colorful, zippy detective story, yet surprisingly crude and squalid, more Dostoyevsky than Turgenev. The murderer's identity was easy to guess early on, and no plot twist surprised. Read it, just for pleasure, after you have taken the full measure of mature Chekhov in all his acuity and delicacy. The Penguin translation worked well, except for those relentless Britishisms we get so often from English translators. Russians do not call each other "chap" and their peasants don't speak Cockney with dropped h's.

Impressive debut novel from Chekhov
That Chekhov wrote this remarkable novel at the age of 24 is almost as impressive as Thomas Mann's writing of "Buddenbrooks" at the age of 26. "The Shooting Party" has a greater sense of feverish, almost Dostoyevskian intensity compared with Chekhov's later work, perhaps attributable to his youth. But it also has the same deep human understanding and descriptive ability - in Chekhov's almost minimalist style - as the later stories and plays.

The structure of the story-within-a-story and the metamorphosis from provincial novel of manners to an account of sexual misconduct and moral turpitude (in 19th century terms) to detective story, all within the space of a 200 pages, may seem a little clumsy to a modern reader (and the identity of the murderer may also be a little more obvious now than it was to a contemporary reader), but achieving all of this in such a short novel takes a great deal of talent, and Chekov's great talent is apparent even at this early stage of his career. It is also a fascinating and compelling novel, both for its account of provincial Russian life, as well as the psychological portrayals of the characters and the "whodunnit" element.

The previous review appears to refer to the 1926 translation (by Constance Garnett?), which no longer appears to be in print. This review relates to the new Ronald Wilks translation, which is adequate, though not outstanding. Constance Garnett's translations of Chekhov (which are still widely available) tend to be very readable and idiomatic (in English), if not always faithful to the original. Like many modern translations of Russian, this translation is occasionally a little wooden, and uses expressions or words that would generally not be used in English, reinforcing the fact that it is a translation. Not being fluent in Russian, I can't comment on its literal accuracy. However, despite these flaws, the translation conveys the story and the meaning of the text perfectly well.

One area for criticism - as is often the case in Penguin classics - is that the notes are often intrusive (and occasionally unnecessary, although not nearly so bad as in other books), and I personally object to the appearance of footnotes within the text. I also object to the introduction - which gives far too much of the plot away - appearing at the beginning of the book, especially as so many readers insist on reading the introduction first. Personally, I would prefer to see critical comments appearing after the text of the novel.

Chekhov's Second Novel (or Only Novel? )
Chekhov gained fame as the master of dozens of short stories and plays. Most of his works are set in small Russian towns and in the countryside. There is some debate on whether his two longer stories - this being one - are novels.

The present novel is written in the same style as some of his short stories. For example, see "The Complete Short Stories" from Vintage Classics. The present storyreminds the reader of "The Duel" and "The Story of an Unknown Man." Many consider it to be his second novel, or his only full novel. Compared to many well know novels by other authors it is short - just over 200 pages with the notes. It was written a few years after the time of his graduation from medical school in 1884. It was one of his first efforts in fiction and contains some elements of a mystery story with an element of comedy or farse.

Chekhov is a little more subtle and human than his contemporary Dostoevsky and he did not write a 500 page novel. But one must admire both writers. In terms of setting and plot, the present work is closest to his other famous work the short story "The Duel" in flavour and setting. "The Shooting Party" has more drama than that short story, and it seems very informal almost slightly crazy; the characters drink a lot of vodka; it is a flamboyant story that takes place in rural Russia; and, the protagonist is a country detective or what they call investigating magistrate. In short, it is a bit of a wild tale. He uses the technique of placing a story within a story, and the two converge at the end.

The Shooting Party, was translated into English in 1926 and Agatha Christie used parts in her mystery novel: "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most influential combat shooting books ever published, Shooting to Live is the product of Capt. W.E. Fairbairn's and Capt. E.A. Sykes' practical experience with the handgun from their many close-quarters gunfights while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1930s. This expanded edition contains a new foreword by British World War II combatives expert Phil Mathews, which sheds new light on the career of E.A. Sykes - the "forgotten hero" of the Fairbairn-Sykes duo - as well as previously unpublished photos.

Hundreds of actual incidents provided the basis for this first true instruction manual on life-or-death shootouts with the pistol. In clear, concise terms, the book teaches the concepts, considerations and applications of combat pistolcraft. A foreword by Col. Rex Applegate explains how Fairbairn and Sykes introduced their groundbreaking methods into American military training circles at the height of World War II. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

There is nothing new under the sun
Although I have shot pistols off and on over the course of my life, I have really gotten interested in pistol marksmanship in a more serious way over the past two years and I've read widely trying to find the best information I can.However, even some of the more familiar authors can't seem to agree on what shooting technique is most important.Recently, I've been studying point shooting via Suarez International and "Shooting to Live" was extolled as "the bible" on this topic.I figured what the heck so I ordered a copy and devoured it in about an hour and I was not disappointed.

Sykes and Fairbairn had it right way back in the 1920s; point shooting is the only way to go when fighting for your life with a pistol at bad breath distances.When tunnel vision kicks in during an adrenaline dump, like when you are being attacked, we lose the ability to focus from 0 to 4 feet which makes obtaining a sight picture difficult and too time-consuming (particularly if you are getting on in years like me with the usual deteriorating vision of old age).If your arms are longer than four feet, then skip this book.

If you want a realistic workable insight into point shooting technique that has a history of working well, this book is worth the time it'll take you to read it.

Practical, Historical, Partly Dated
Others have made many good points so I'll try to focus on different ones.

Fairbairn and Sykes did not develop their system from theory, they based it on the observations from 666 gunfights. A point I never see mentioned is that while the Shanghai Municipal Police were a multi-national force, it did have many Chinese officers. The significance of that is that those officers would all have had extensive training in Chinese martial arts. Thus, their reactions under stress would have been partly conditioned by well honed practice in related, proven disciplines.

The American law-enforcement and shooting communities have often erred in viewing point shooting as an alternative to sighted fire when it is, in fact, even in this book, merely the close-range part of a broader continuum of technique. American cops generally lose the gunfights they do lose at distances better measured in feet than in yards, where Mother Nature is screaming to look a the threat, not that tiny projection at the end of the barrel. Failure to train people in how to put rounds on a threat that has taken us by surprise at close range is just as negligent and not training them to use the sights when time and distance allow.

The quarter-hip or close-hip position pictured in this book most closely resembles the speed rock of recent decades. Most of us who teach a similar protected-gun or retention position in this century teach rotating the sights out about 30 degrees (to about 1 o'clock for the right-handed shooter). This puts the shots on the same centerline or "knife edge" at one or two arm's lengths as getting the gun out to the half-hip or three-quarter-hip positions, while keeping it out of the grasping range of the threat.

Some practices preached in this book, such as empty-chamber carry and stalking with the finger inside the trigger guard have largely and properly fallen by the wayside, as has the grasp of the gun-hand wrist with the support hand. However, the thumbs-forward grip of the autoloading pistol, which has become de rigueur in most American shooting circles for about the last two decades, is clearly pictured in this book.

The value of a book in this field is not properly measured by how many pages one gets for the price but by whether it teaches at least one thing of practical value when one is fighting for his life. This book is worth the price.

Over rated?
This book endorses point shooting, which is an extremely important tactic in close quarters gun fighting.The mention of this concept in 1942 is definitely way ahead of its time.However, I was expecting to hear more about the 600+ gun fights that this methodology was based on and how those events influenced the methodology.Perhaps I was expecting more but it seemed to be a very cursory look at the topic.There are several training routines mentioned that a student could set up and practice.Overall, I was underwhelmed.This is a starting point if someone is picking it up as an introduction to point shooting but nothing more.A live training class or DVD would be money better spent.

An old classic on combat shooting that is a must read for anyone interested in real life self-defense.
This great book was first published in 1942 but the techniques and tactics are as relevent today as they were when the book was first published.This book deals with real life combat shooting methods. This volume should be read by anyone who is interested in learning the techniques and tactics of the Fairbairn and Sykes combat shooting method. The emphasis is on close range point shooting.As a former range instructor for my agency, I emphasized a combination of point and site shooting for street combat.In conclusion, this is a classic that will be of interest to anyone into the use of firearms for self-defense.Rating: 5 Stars.Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Monadnock Defensive Tactics System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Martial Art Myths, Season of the Warrior, Never Trust a Politician).

A good book to save your life with

This is a good book to save your life with.It explains how to shoot to stay alive.If something like that would appeal to you, you couldn't do better than read this book cover to cover. ... Read more

Product Description

FOUR GIRLS TOUCHED BY SPECIAL GIFTS.
FOUR STUNNING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS-- -
TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Cinnamon...She escaped her family's turmoil by dreaming of imaginary worlds. But it's her talent for the theater that gives Cinnamon a chance...to truly escape.

Ice...To her mother's dismay, she was a silent wallflower, not a social butterfly. Now, her secret gift -- her solid-gold singing voice -- may become her saving grace.

Rose...When she danced, she could dream -- and when her father's secrets threatened to destroy her world, a most unlikely person gives Rose the courage to follow her heart.

Honey...Raised on her strict grandfather's farm, her natural-born talent for the violin gave her a new life -- and love with a handsome soul mate. Will a shocking revelation shatter her newfound happiness? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

I LOVED it
Not VC Andrews', but this one was close. I wish more of the books that the ghost writter does were at least this good. He/She needs to go back and read more of her work and get back into the swing of things. Anyways, I really loved this book.

Four Talented Young Ladies
This book was about four young ladies who came out of their shells.Cinnamon did a beautiful job performing on stage.I think she deserved to get the last laugh on the girls who resented her for taking the lead role.Ice got what she wanted a chance to be herself.She made friends with a piano player.Rose was grieved when her dad died.She felt better about herself when she helped Evan get out and meet people.Honey liked to play the violin which her uncle Peter taught her to play.She enjoyed having a good relationship with Chandler.

What the ***?
Why take four godawful mini books and make them into one, horrendous novel? I suspect it's about the money. If you want to waste your money, go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, if you want to be smart and save, don't bother. As Simon Cowell would say - this is absolutely dreadful.

Fascinating
This book truly compliments the series.I do recommend that you read the other 4 books in the series. This book combines all four books, and tells of rise to fame.If you are a true VC Andrews lover then this book is for you. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Kindle edition. no line spacing or font type options
1 star for not advertising the fact you can not change line spacing or font type.Boo.

Great info for fans of these films
I had seen almost all of Ralph Rosenblum's movies and with this book I got the back story. In was very informative. Here you get a good look at the working methods of people such as Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. It was worth it just for the story about the making of Annie Hall. Recommend for all American film buffs.

A New Way to Look At Films
This book is an excellent source for anyone wanting to know what goes into the art of movie making.And the fact that many films weren't even usable...until the editors got to them and turned them into magical works of art.Great and fascinating read.

Inside look at Annie Hall
A fun read, the book could be re-titled, THE CREATING OF ANNIE HALL. Robenblum explains how the Allen's icon of the 70s changed in the editing room from clutter to the paradigm of the modern romance/comedy. Other Allen movies are discussed in detail and the craft of editing is laid out between the lines.

A Filmmaking Insider Talks About His Craft
This is a fascinating look inside filmmaking. Most of the examples are from the 1960s and 1970s, but that does not lessen the impact or relevance.

The author is a master of the film editing craft. He also writes with insight and emotion. As you read, you'll learn how a film is "cut", how a film evolves, and what makes a film "work."

This book deserves a place in the bookcase of any student of the filmmaking art or craft.
... Read more

Product Description

"This volume enshrines and preserves the essence of what the TV Western has always been all about."--Fess Parker, star of the Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone TV series, from the foreword

Since the beginning of television, Westerns have been playing on the small screen. From the mid-1950s until the early 1960s, they were one of TV's most popular genres, with millions of viewers tuning in to such popular shows as Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and Disney's Davy Crockett. Though the cultural revolution of the later 1960s contributed to the demise of traditional Western programs, the Western never actually disappeared from TV. Instead, it took on new forms, such as the highly popular Lonesome Dove and Deadwood, while exploring the lives of characters who never before had a starring role, including anti-heroes, mountain men, farmers, Native and African Americans, Latinos, and women.

Shooting Stars of the Small Screen is a comprehensive encyclopedia of more than 450 actors who received star billing or played a recurring character role in a TV Western series or a made-for-TV Western movie or miniseries from the late 1940s up to 2008. Douglas Brode covers the highlights of each actor's career, including Western movie work, if significant, to give a full sense of the actor's screen persona(s). Within the entries are discussions of scores of popular Western TV shows that explore how these programs both reflected and impacted the social world in which they aired. Brode opens the encyclopedia with a fascinating history of the TV Western that traces its roots in B Western movies, while also showing how TV Westerns developed their own unique storytelling conventions.

Customer Reviews (5)

Shooting Stars of the Small Screen
The book is OK but I had hoped for a lot more photos of my heroes, one of EACH of the characters. Here in DK we(some)dont even know 10% of the actors, so a pic would be very helpful - remember : Those Television series never hit the European screens, so there's a lot to learn.
By the way - I bought this very book a month ago, and my last order of it was a MISTAKE!I have this latest copy in virgin cello and would like to swap it into something more interesting.
But HOW ??
Best regards Hans

Excellent Reference
As a life long fan of TV westerns I have to admit, sadly, that my memory is fading.With this book on the coffee table I can reference an actor, find what westerns he acted in, and be directed to his/her co-stars.Although this book doesn't offer much information that can't be found on the internet, it is conveniently packaged, alphabetically ordered, and interestingly written. You'll find fascinating tidbits on many stars, from Lee Aaker to Anthony Zerbe, and everyone in between.Did you know that Jeannette Nolan, John McIntire's wife, and star of "The Virginian", in addition to many other TV westerns, was the voice of "Norma Bates" in Psycho?

Nostalgic Guide to Boob Tube Cowboys!
Prolific author Douglas Brode takes Baby Boomers down memory lane with this guide to 450+ actors/actresses who starred in TV westerns from 1946 to 2008. Especially during the 1950s, the small screen was inundated with westerns galore, some classics, others run-of-the-mill. Whether you were a fan of DAVY CROCKETT, WAGON TRAIN, PALADIN, RAWHIDE, MAVERICK, THE RIFLEMAN, F TROOP or later entries like LONESOME DOVE, coach potatoes will find something of interest in Brode's book.

After an interesting essay on cowboys on the small screen, Brode details the actors and actresses who rode the ranges on the small screen. SHOOTING STARS OF THE SMALL SCREEN is alphabetically arranged; the first entry being Lee Aaker, the last, Anthony Zerbe. In between you'll find so many wonderful actors/actresses - Gene Autry, Ward Bond, Richard Boone, Fess Parker, Sam Elliott, Gene Evans, Jeanette Nolan, R. G. Armstrong, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Robert Duvall, Amanda Blake, Gabby Hayes, Bill Boyd, Steve McQueen, Nick Adams, Dan Duryea, Jane Seymour, David Carradine, John Russell, James Coburn, Darren McGavin, Lee Marvin, Walter Brennan, Ross Martin, Lorne Greene, L. Q. Jones, Jack Palance, etc. - who starred in western series or essayed memorable guest appearances. Some entries may surprise you - Jerry Reed, Suzanne Somers, etc. - but, according to Brode, they rate inclusion.

Brode provides basic biographical info on each, details their work in westerns and subsequent career. Entries can range from a few short paragraphs to several pages. James Arness, for example, rates four pages; Fess Parker and Hugh O'Brian, five. Some entries - about 75 - include a photograph of the actor/actress or series cast.

SHOOTING STARS OF THE SMALL SCREEN is the kind of book you can devour cover to cover or just open to a page, read and enjoy. TV buffs will enjoy revisiting their favorite cowpokes, cowgirls and shows. It's a hoot. Recommended.

Fun bit of nostalgia !!
This book is not about the movies or television shows of the western era.It is an encyclopedia of the actors that brought the genre to life on the celluloid screen.Western actors, big and small, top bill and sidekick are listed, each with a small biography.The author talks about how the actor found themselves in Hollywood and landed the show or movie that made them a shooting star.I was finally able to put names to the many faces that I have watched on screen for some time.It's basic reading, but very enjoyable.Long Live Cowboys!!

Shooting Stars is a Star
I love TV westerns and western actors.Shooting Stars is the most informative encyclopedia of TV westerns that I've ever seen.With this book as a guide, I would love to watch some of the episodes that I have not seen in a long time.

Very interesting and great fun.If you like westerns get this book!!!
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (14)

A beautifully written snapshot of a way of life on the eve of its passing
Isabel Colegate's The Shooting Party is one of those books where the sheer beauty of the prose sweeps the reader away to a different time and place, into a snapshot perfectly captured of an era and a way of life on the eve of its passing. The summation found inside the dust jacket flap lays things out perfectly:

"It is the autumn of 1913. Sir Randolph Nettleby has assembled a brilliant array of guests at his estate in Oxfordshire for the biggest shoot of the season. An army of game-keepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate rituals of the hunt and of the house. The gentlemen are falling into the prescribed mode of fellowship and good-humored sporting rivalry; the ladies are reviewing the latest gossip as they follow their husbands' and suitors' progress in the shooting. The weekend party would seem a perfect enactment and affirmation of the pleasures and privileges of Edwardian country life.
--Yet Isabel Colegate makes clear -- in this stunningly beautiful, ironic, and deeply intelligent novel -- that all is not what it seems: almost every aspect of the moral and social codes of the group is being flouted and violated. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, passion that bursts the confines of genteel flirtation, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the class distinctions that oppress the lower orders -- these harsher, more difficult truths are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace that is to last for only a brief while longer...."

I first became aware of the book because of the 1982 film that was made from it. For those familiar with the film, it does, for the most part, follow the book remarkably faithfully with the single exception of the scene where the guests dress up in costume for an evening's frivolity, which was apparently created from whole cloth as it does not appear in the book at all.But whether or not you're familiar with the film version, the book remains a truly worthwhile read, again because of the truly breathtaking elegance and richness of detail of Colegate's prose, as can be seen in this intimacy-inducing description of Sir Randolph's study:

"It was a smallish room, high-ceilinged and panelled half way up the walls with dark oak. The patterned wallpaper was dark too, but not much of it was to be seen because of the number of pictures hanging on it and the massive oak superstructure above the fireplace which incorporated two mantel-shelves with small supporting pillars at their sides. The shelves were crowded with a variety of objects and ornaments, and above them the carved and fluted wood allowed for an inset oval picture lit on each side by hinged candelabra. This picture, like most of those on the walls, was -- only just discernibly for the pictures too were dark -- a landscape with figures. This one, unlike the others which though age and tobacco-smoking owners had obscured them were by such painters as Zucharelli and George Morland, was the work of an amateur. Sir Randolph's great-aunt, an artist of considerable skill, had copied it in oils in the spring of 1864, when she and her husband had spent three months in Venice. It showed a man on a horse looking down into a sort of quarry where a woman was sitting, draped in a cloak. The horse held one leg up in front of it as if about to paw the ground, wanting to be off, and the man seemed to hesitate, and behind them to the right was a group of buildings on a hill, very solid, a large farm perhaps, and on the other wise a vast and various distance stretched towards a pale sky, becoming a deep shadowy blue as it approached the horizon. It was a picture which once looked at -- for the dark varnish Great Aunt Hannah had applied had darkened even more with the years and not everyone did look - seemed to draw he spectator by some kind of infinite and mysterious significance. Sir Randolph had never troubled to find out what it was supposed to represent or who had painted the original. He liked it as he liked certain pieces of music and would have hated to have had it moved, cleaned or elucidated."

Colegate is particularly adept at using her chosen setting and characters as a representative microcosm of the greater society of which they're a part, showing the beliefs, customs and attitudes of the different social layers that made up English manorial life in the late Edwardian era. Her prose style is subtly evocative, showing through a character's musings and exchanges an awareness on the part of some that things were changing, while others remained blissfully and willfully oblivious:

"He [Sir Randolph] did feel, if not yet a dodo, at least at tne end of something; he did feel, looking around the room in which the watery light filtering through the beech leaves and reflecting the river gave everything a soft luminosity becoming to the unpainted faces of the women and the muted colour of their clothes and the blue and white of the china on the dark shelves behind them, that beyond the river and the trees, beyond the boundaries of his own estate, there was a whole clamorous violent disorderly process going on which was to bring about the end of an idea, an idea started by people whose combination of poetry and political acumen, curiosity and love of pastoral life, made them seem, he'd always thought, though Florentine, rather English. He believed - of course he believed - that Renaissance man had been best embodied in the eighteenth-century English gentleman, and it was this figure, standing in his library, a book in one hand, the other resting lightly on a piece of classical sculpture, gazing out over a landscape harmoniously ordered by himself and under his guidance his tenants, in the consciousness that from time to time he would be called upon to play a part in the government of his country or its defence, and that in due course his eldest son would take his place and stand at his library window and deal with his tenants and show his visitors the improvements -- it was this figure which in Sir Randolph's mind accorded so ill with striking industrial workers, screaming suffragettes, Irish terrorists, scandals on the Stock Exchange, universal suffrage. If the hierarchy to which he belonged were to be swept away by absolute democracy what could his son the diplomat expect to inherit? Or his granson Marcus, the schoolboy? His imagination ran suddenly far ahead, past bankruptcy, past expropriation, past the roused rabble and the barbarian horde, to the outposts and lonely places of the world, the faint torch of truth, the wide white light of the island of Iona.
--'Now why are you smiling?' asked Aline.
--'Because I was telling Olivia a few minutes ago my gloomy prognostications about the future, and the extraordinary thing is that sometimes when my thoughts about the future become very gloomy indeed, I find myself feeling more and more lighthearted about it. Do you find that at all?'
--'I never have gloomy thoughts about the future. I can't afford to at my age, it would give me wrinkles.'
--'I suppose I have always rather fancied the idea of having to take to the hills.'
--'What hills? There aren't any round here.'
--'We're not all that far from the Chilterns. But I suppose I mean that metaphorically. Taking to the hills when barbarian hordes overrun us, that's what I meant. I think I should enjoy it.'
--'Minne would simply hate it. I really think taking to the hills is not at all a suitable thing for Minnie to do. She and I will just have to stay behind and try to make friends with the barbarians.'"

Highly recommended for anyone who loves the beauty of the written word in the hands of a truly masterful writer. And to anyone interested in an intimate portrayal of English country life at the end of the Edwardian era and of the shooting party as a social function of the time.

A Great Find
A friend wanted this book for Christmas, and I wasn't sure I would be able to locate it in time. I was pleased to find it on Amazon and ordered it. It arrived very promptly and in excellent condition. My friend was very happy with it as a gift.

a great novel
i would like to thank reviewer mary whipple for pointing me in the direction of this fantastic book. it's a great old-fashion novel, full of complex and interesting characters, that paints a vivid picture of pre-world war I english society in a thoroughly entertaining story. isabel colegate's writing is dazzling to boot. upon finishing this book, i got on my computer and bought everything else that i could find by this author. if her other novels are even close to this good, that will have been money well spent.

The Shooting Party
Isabel Colgate has given us both a graceful and wonderfully written book about a way of English life (1913) that was on the verge of disappearing due to the coming of World War I. From a modern perspective, if a person wanted to know how England became the way it is presently, one must go back to that time between the Boer War and WWI and then take in the monumental changes caused by the First World War.What Isabel Colgate has accomplished so admirably in this modest sized book is to give us an insight into the social thinking and values that existed in the book's 1913 setting -- a shooting party at a country estate.A first-rate piece of writing and insight by an award winning author.Highly recommended.

(Also, this book was turned into a solid screenplay in 1983 and a first rate motion picture was produced of the same title.It had a stellar British cast and was, sadly, actor James Mason's last film.After seeing the finished movie in early 1985, Mr. Mason said it was one of the finest films he had the privilege of working on in his long career. The film is currently available on DVD in a nicely restored version.But do read the book!)

A masterpiece of precision.
Readers who admire careful, precise writing will thrill at Colegate's prose, which is so polished it sparkles here, avoiding pretension, excess verbiage, and empty lyricism.Instead, Colegate chooses words full of inference and irony, feeling and attitude. Broad themes, historical perspective, and a plot which contains a large cast of individualized characters from all levels of society come alive here in a mere two hundred pages.

Setting the novel in the autumn of 1913, before the outbreak of World War I, Colegate establishes her themes in the first paragraph, asking the reader to imagine an Edwardian drawing room of a country estate, with gas lamps, a log fire, and people from a long time ago, sitting and standing in groups. In the room beyond, a "fierce electric light" shines forth, overpowering the quiet, lamplit room, making it seem shadowy and the people like "beings from a much remoter past." The gentry in this snapshot are not naïve. Even they recognize that "an age, perhaps a civilization, is coming to an end," as industrialization and urbanization are changing the centers of power, and a war looms.

A lively cast of characters is invited to Sir Randolph Nettleby's 1000-acre park for a weekend shoot, and as they converse and interact, they quickly become individualized, the reader learning of their attitudes and prejudices, their understanding of the code of behavior, and the details of their very "civilized" lives. When the shoot begins and the beaters send the birds into the air, the symbolic parallels between the world as it has been, the world as it will be during the coming war, and the world as it may be after the war become obvious to the reader, and the death of one of the characters is not a surprise.

Colegate is never polemical, however, imbuing her story with a great deal of personal interaction, warmth, and feeling, and as the action unfolds, the reader feels simultaneously wistful about the loss of cultural identity which is about to occur and gratified that the stultifying "predictable-ness" of that life will change. This is a book to savor, written by a remarkable stylist whose prose clearly illustrates that less is more.One of the most remarkable novels of the last fifty years, it has also been made into an equally remarkable film, starring the unforgettable James Mason. Mary Whipple

Winter Journey
Deceits of Time (King Penguin)
The Shooting Party

... Read more

Product Description
Christmas can be murder ...Carole Seddon hates Christmas - it all seems rather a waste of time. So when her neighbour and best friend, Jude, drags her along to go shopping at a local store called Gallimaufry, she can feel her inner-Scrooge knocking. But the sales are on and even Carole can't resist a bargain. Then, a few days later, Gallimaufry is burnt down and a body is discovered in the ashes. It seems like a tragic accident, but no-one can die of natural causes when a gun is involved. The victim was young, pretty and in a long-term relationship - who could possibly want her dead? With a host of suspicious characters - the infamous womanizer Ricky Le Bonnier with a string of ex-wives; Piers Duncton, a comedy writer who just isn't that funny; or Anna Carter, the lonely dog walker - the lady detectives know they have their work cut out for them. And as they dig deeper they discover a host of half-truths and lies. It seems that someone in Fethering has a deep, dark, deadly secret - and is prepared to kill to keep it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

shooting in the shop - book
Great book. Fast dependable delivery. I like the Fethering Series.Not too violent...very british cozy.Good read. ... Read more

Product Description
THE TRUE STORY OF OCTOBER 2, 2006, WHEN CHARLES ROBERTS ENTERED AN AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE, bound and shot ten schoolgirls, and then committed suicide, stunned all who read the headlines or watched the drama unfold on television screens. Somehow, the senseless violence seemed all the more horrific against the backdrop of horse-and-buggy funeral processions and scenes of wide-eyed innocent children clad in bonnets and suspenders.

But perhaps even more startling than the violence was the quiet yet powerful response of the Amish community offering unconditional forgiveness to the murderer and reaching out to his family with baskets of food and warm welcomes into their homes. Could such forgiveness be genuine, truly heartfelt? Surely there must be simmering rage behind those peaceful words.

Jonas Beiler wondered. He had grown up in that very Amish community. His own pain of losing his daughter in a tragic accident years before resurfaced, and the lingering shadows of other life tragedies loomed darker. As he met with the grieving families, he could see how devastated and broken they felt, and yet he was drawn to the strength he saw in them.

Outsiders, too, had difficulty understanding the rock-solid faith of the people in this Amish community. How could they forgive someone who killed their innocent daughters? How could they reach out and embrace his family, expressing unconditional love for them in these circumstances? Letters from around the world poured in, asking these universal questions in the face of suffering.

And so began Jonas Beiler's journey into this story -- the story behind the headlines, behind the farmhouse doors, around the lantern-lit kitchen tables, at the local market, and alongside the tiny coffins. His quest is now yours to read. His discoveries yours to consider.

Walk with those closest to the scene: an Amish grandfather, an ambulance driver, a surviving Amish schoolgirl, and volunteer firefighters. Even look on as the community demolishes the school where the murders took place and builds the New Hope School that holds no memories of bloodstained walls.

Think No Evil is the first insider account of the tragic events, the personal victories and the daily Amish life in Nickel Mines, written by a native of the Amish community who still lives and works where most of his relatives are Old Order Amish. Against the rich and fascinating backdrop of Amish culture, Beiler reveals the best of the human spirit in the midst of the worst, and leaves us all drawn heavenward, the richer for it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Good Book But!
Good book which goes into detail about the terrible tragedy in Nickel Mines.The author keeps repeating how forgiving the Amish people are.My only question is if they are so forgiving why do they practice "Shunning" on former Amish who decide to leave the Amish lifestyle.You would think they would practice some of that forgiveness the author talks and talks about.

A Supernatural Response to An Evil Act
I didn't know much about the Amish before this book. I recently read that retreats are now being offered where phones, t.v.'s, and all electronic detractors are removed. All the luxuries that were suppose to free up our time to relax aren't working. We are a compulsive, obsessive, stressed to the max society. Maybe there are some lessons to be learned from the Amish. This is what this book taught me.

First of all Jonas Beiler is qualified to write this book. He was raised Amish in the area of the story and left his Amish way of living when he became an adult. About 5% about "choose" to leave. Since then he has not been ostracized from them at all. Next, he himself suffered the loss of his daughter a young child named Angie. She was only 19 months old when she died in a vehicle accident. So he knows the unimaginable pain of losing a child suddenly. He also had the fortitude to forgive his spouse and remain with her after she had an affair with a friend of his. What does he have that defies our "get even," "me first" culture? That answer comes to us in this story.

The catalyst for this tragedy comes from the carnal mind of the shooter. He had a daughter that died shortly afterbirth. Within 10 years God has given him two more children but he can't get over loosing the first one and he blames God for all his unnecessary suffering. The Amish know God can be trusted and don't question His eternal perspective. So like Timothy Mcveigh, he sets off to win the body count, then cowardly take his life so as not to have to face the misery his hands created, and he picks the most Godly devoted he can find, little Amish girl angels. Had his gun jammed before the self inflicted wound I think he would have lived to understand why Jesus is called our savior, and what he saves us from. Ironically he is shown the meaning of life by the first human life he takes. 13 year old Marian sees him raise his 12 gauge shotgun, and she announces at that moment, "Shoot me first." Her 11 year old sister Barbie then says, "Shoot me next." Can you believe it? They ask to be shot first. Probably thinking the sight of the blood letting and the boom of a shotgun blast in a small room might snap him back to his sanity and they might save the lives of their school mates if he stops right away. Of course I got choked up by that.

By 9 o'clock that very day the Amish community phoned Charles Roberts wife and told her they hoped that she would stay in the community. They told his family that they held no ill will towards them or the now deceased killer who took his own life. The name of the book comes from something one of the victims grandfathers told CNN at a community meeting.

"We must not think evil of this man." This book is a great inspiration for the world and timed perfectly. What a contrast to all the other school massacre books. Almost like God wanted to show us His heart. Unforgettable!

The ineffable unexplained again
If you missed some of the facts of the incident this book will fill them in.It does that well. What it will not do is explain the reasons behind the forgiveness. A tenuous link is made to the history of the Amish, but this only presents another fact or two; it does not explore the deep motivational struggles in practicing forgiveness. The book says to forgive.The book does not say how to forgive.

Where Were the Amish Men?
This is a moving account of the murder of five Amish school girls in October 2006 by Charles Roberts, a deranged killer. The two authors grew up Amish, leaving only when they became adults, so they provide an excellent account of why the Amish responded as they did, with forgiveness rather than anger. Just keep in mind that this book is not the Amish perspective on the tragedy. It is the perspective of two people who understand Amish beliefs and who write about them from a psychological and sociological perspective. They describe the modern psychological benefits of Amish forgiveness with more skill than they explain the deeper religious motivations that underlie them. These were, after all, men who chose to leave the Amish faith. They are understanding outsiders, but they are outsiders.

Unfortunately, I have the same grating frustration with the events this book describes as I do with the Rwandan genocide and with the 1999 Columbine massacre. Something that is clearly wrong--passivity in the face of violence and evil--is described as if it were a supreme good rather than a tragic failure. I described my frustration earlier in my Amazon review of a film on the Rwandan genocide. I'll describe it again here.

The best illustration what is right came over two thousand years ago when Greece faced death and enslavement from an invasion out of the East. The men of Greece are said to have left for battle with the words of their mothers, wives and daughters ringing in their ears. They were to return "with their shields or on them." The first thing an ancient soldier did when in breaking and running was to cast away his heavy shield. Returning with their shields meant that they had defeated their foe. Returning on their shields meant that they had been wounded or died in a battle that they had won. (If they'd have lost, their bodies would have been left on the field.) In short, the women of Greece were telling their men they had a responsibility to protect their families whatever the cost.

I will be blunt. Why were all ten victims shot by Charles Roberts and all five who died girls? The little one-room schoolhouse wasn't a school for girls. There were about as many boys present as girls, some as old as twelve. Those girls died for two reasons. First, because Charles Roberts, in his perverted grief over the death of his daughter, intended to target girls. And second, because the boys in that school did nothing to stop him, meekly doing as they were ordered, leaving the classroom and standing outside as the tragedy unfolded.

That's why I captioned this review, "Where Were the Amish Men?" These boys growing up to manhood in the Amish faith had not been taught that they had a role they could not avoid, the responsibility of the stronger sex to protect their little sisters and the young girls in their neighborhood. And that responsibility was not lessened by the fact that acting meant facing danger and even death. Amish men are certainly excellent farmers and businessmen, what some women call 'good providers.' But they're of little value when evil comes knocking.

In short, while the authors clearly want us to be impressed by the Amish faith they left behind. I'm not. The Amish have grossly overemphasized one virtue, forgiveness, while wholly neglecting another of greater importance, our responsibility for the lives and safety of others. If those Amish boys had been properly raised, taught to become men when men are needed, that little Amish community would have had far less to forgive. Yes, one or two of the boys might have died as they attacked the 200-pound Charles Roberts en masse, but they would have bought precious time for all the girls to escape and, once the girls were safe, all but perhaps one or two of them could have made their escape, leaving Roberts with no one to kill but himself.

The Amish have made a tragic mistake, one that is now centuries old. There is evil in this world, genuine evil that must be fought, defeated and destroyed. We can't delegate all that responsibility to those who respond to 911 calls. The same Jesus who talked about forgiveness also told his disciples "let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one." Evil and violence must be met with courage, strength and, yes, counter-violence. Forgiveness is necessary after the fact. But it is not enough.

--Michael W. Perry, Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings

A let down
I read Jonas' account of the lives taken at the school house. His major plot line was forgiveness. I knew that the Amish put forgiveness, a virtue shared by the whole community.
LMN ia airing a movie based on the happening surrounding the shooting of 10 children. This movie tells a very different story from Jonas' book.

In Amish Grace the LMN movie, focuses on one mother who cannot forgive the man who killed her daughter. Jonas book leads us to believe that all of the parents forgave the shooter. Jonas failed to share the whole truth. ... Read more

Product Description
"Shooting Up" analyzes how involvement in the production and trafficking of illicit commodities, especially drugs, affects the strength of belligerents and governments. Much of U.S. anti-narcotics policy abroad is based on the assumption of symbiotic relationships between drug producers, traffickers, insurgents, and terrorists; thus, policy is organized around the premise that the suppression of drug production will service both anti-drug and counterterrorist goals. The author challenges this narcoguerrilla premise of U.S. policy. She shows that, far from being complementary, anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency policies are frequently at odds with one another. Given that warlords, terrorists, and insurgents gain vast financial resources from the illicit drug economy, U.S. policymakers rely heavily on crop eradication as a way to end the military conflict in a particular country. Eradication, however, often fails to significantly diminish the physical capabilities of the belligerents and-counterproductively-enhances their legitimacy.She demonstrates that success in suppressing illicit economies, such as drugs, cannot be achieved without first addressing the security situation in the country. The book provides hard-hitting recommendations for reformulating this dimension of U.S. national security policy and for optimal sequencing of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and counternarcotics policies. Likewise, it points the way for other governments to deal effectively with the nexus between military conflict and illicit economies. The book contains specific case studies of Peru, Colombia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Northern Ireland. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Solid writing on a murky subject
Here Vanda Felbab-Brown offers a very convincing analysis of the problems that arise when dealing with illicit economies and insurgents in the third world.

Initially, I was fairly skeptical.The first two chapters deal with analytic conclusions and the terms by which her research was conducted.Though these claims seem to "float" initially (she takes, I think, too long to define one of her key terms, "Political Capital"), the histories she provides of Peru, Columbia, and Afghanistan thoroughly dissolved my doubt in the book's analytic capacity.Nuance comes through solidly in the historical section of the book.Thankfully, the author does not get bogged down by trying to involve the efficacy of international law; she makes it clear that policymakers cannot have their cake and eat it too, at leas insofar as the traditional (pro-eradication) understanding of narcoterror would have it.Rather, the difficulties of the subject matter arise naturally out of the book. ... Read more

Product Description

In the years just after World War II, motorcycles were the third largest source of foreign exchange for the United Kingdom, lagging behind only automobiles and Scotch whiskey. And yet, the British motorcycle industry was essentially dead by 1975. This is the first comprehensive examination of the demise of what was once not only the largest motorcycle industry in the world, but something that virtually defined a nation for decades. With a critical look at business and trade practices, fresh information about the businessmen who built these companies and then ran them into the ground, as well as the engineers and designers who were brilliant and badly flawed, emerges alongside the full romance, beauty, and excitement of the machines and the top racers who rode them. Combining archival material and new interviews with industry insiders and living legends, this objective investigation will fascinate enthusiasts and is a cautionary tale for the currently declining American automotive industry.

Customer Reviews (4)

Shot Down Star
If you want to hear about the in-fighting and power struggles, then you will love this tome.If you want to see pictures and details about the cycles, you will be terribly disappointed.Read it in one day and gave it away. Waste of money and time.And this from a person who has owned just about every model of British bike made for 40 years.

Shooting Star
This is an excellent book on the sad demise of the British motorcycle industry. Well written.

British motorcycle industry
I wrote the following review for New Zealand magazine KIWI RIDER

Book review

SHOOTING STAR
The rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry

The author of this book, unlike previous commentators on the British motorcycle industry, is an American. This should signal a fresh perspective on just what went wrong. Abe Aamidor is a journalist, author, University lecturer, and motorcycle enthusiast. He states that motorcycles were as important to England's national identity as the wine industry is to French national identity. In the years immediately following World War Two the British motorcycle industry was the third largest source of foreign exchange in the United Kingdom, after motor cars and Scotch Whisky. By 1974, the British brands held only 1% of the all-important American market and just 3% of the home market.

So what went wrong? What caused the collapse, in thirty years, of an industry that had led the world since the invention of the motorcycle? There is no simply answer. Blame has been laid at the feet of management, the workers, and the product. It seems the answer is a combination of all these components. But there is another factor, the passage of history, and the author covers this well. Most of the major British motorcycle companies began in the early years of the 20th century. In 1914 the First World War began. This was healthy for companies that had contracts to provide bikes to the military, but the war did little to foster motorcycles for leisure and transport amongst the civilian population.

In 1918, when the war finished, there followed ten years of recovery, and in 1929 the great depression shattered the world's economy. Some say the depression began to ease in the mid-30s, others maintain it lasted until the beginning of the Second Word War in 1939. At the end of this war the British economy was so stretched that most of the output consisted of pre-war models. The 1950s offered a fifteen year run to the mid-60s when the Japanese arrived. And that is about the longest uninterrupted run the British motorcycle industry has ever had. It has been a history scarred by war, economic crisis, and industrial upheaval. The Japanese have already enjoyed forty years of uninterrupted economic stability. A luxury the British never enjoyed.

One thing seems certain. It all had little to do with the bikes. How valuable today is a BSA Gold Star, a Vincent Black Lightening, or a Velocette Thruxton?

Well Researched
This was painful to read, not because of any shortcoming of the book, but because I already knew the outcome.I had read (and recently re-read) Bert Hopwood's bookWhatever Happened to the British Motorcycle Industry? and both books together give a fascinating view of the decline of a once world-dominating industry."Shooting Star" seemed to be a more dispassionate and unbiased account, while Hopwood's tome was from the inside out, and (probably)somewhat self-serving. Today's headlines regarding the American auto industry's troubles invite frequent comparison with the not-too-distant goings-on at Small Heath and Meriden and give the subject matter a freshness probably unanticipated by the author.I wish he'd been able to spend a little more time on some of the other players such as Vincent and Royal Enfield.I'd give it 5 stars, but he left me wanting even more! ... Read more

Product Description
The newest screenplay from the Oscar®-nominated writers of Election and About Schmidt, starring Paul Giamatti (American Splendor), a tale of two men's adventure in California wine country.

Based on Rex Pickett's acclaimed first novel, Sideways tells the story of Miles (Paul Giamatti), a failed novelist, and his soon-to-be married friend Jack (Wings' Thomas Haden Church), a washedup actor. To salute the remains of their youth, the two men take one last road trip in the week before Jack's wedding. A serious wine enthusiast, Miles is determined to educate his friend on the region's beloved Pinot Noir wines before the week is out.

Jack indulges his best friend's passion for the grape but is mainly interested in living his last week of bachelorhood to the hilt. Trouble ensues with wine and women (played by Ghosts of Mississippi's Virginia Madsen and Under the Tuscan Sun's Sandra Oh) and the duo comes to some profound realizations as they come to terms with maturity.

The Newmarket Shooting Script® book includes the complete screenplay and three original commentaries written exclusively for the book by writer/director Alexander Payne, novelist Rex Pickett, and Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good.
Good, witty, smart. Might not be as awesome as all the hype; but definitely a good choice to add to your DVD collection.

Fun movie, better script
I got a little bored during this movie, but the script is beautifully written. Definitely "I wish I could do that" writing.

Outstanding
The first time I watched the film, I couldn't get through it.There was very little that was likable about the characters, and I chose not to spend 2 hours with losers.Seeing all of the critical acclaim it received, I decided to watch it again... and loved it the second time around.Reading the screenplay made me love it even more!I could stop and savor the writing, noting how each scene ends provacatively.It's a very adult piece, and one must be very open-minded and not judgmental when reading the screenplay or watching the film.

LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!

A wonderful read
I loved the movie. On impulse, I sought out the screen play because I wanted to see how the story looked on paper. The experience was illuminating for the insight it provided me in how movies are crafted. But more importantly, being able to pause at an interesting passage of dialog, to enjoy it more completely, enabled me to control the pace of the story. Lastly, the screenplay is very good writing, and a joy to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Shooting Star is a gritty, compelling novel about steriods. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Gold Star Award Winner!

Jomo Rodgers has big football dreams; unfortunately, he's not big.His coach praises his competitive attitude and his hustle, but he always ends his comments with, "If only ...."Jomo knows he means, if only he was bigger.

At the coach's suggestion, Jomo begins an aggressive training program between his sophomore and junior year.With the help of Jeri, the team's strength training coach, he is able to start building some muscle and increasing his weight.Just like most young athletes, Jomo doesn't think it is happening fast enough, so he looks to another source.He hooks up with Ganz, a college chemistry major who is selling a product he says will make Jomo a star.

Just two weeks after beginning the steroid injections, Jomo notices a difference - and so do his coaches and teammates.Getting the money to continue using is not a problem, but keeping it a secret might prove to be.

His football situation is improving, but things at home are not.His father, a college professor, has started ending each evening drunk, and Jomo's mother recently moved to Seattle to advance her art career, so she is not around to keep things running smoothly.Even with his success on the football field and admiring calls from college recruiters, side-effects from the steroids have Jomo's life spiraling out of control.

SHOOTING STAR by Fredrick McKissack, Jr. focuses on the player side of steroid use.What pushes a player to use the illegal substance knowing that discovery will end a career?Why does a player continue using when things obviously get out of hand?SHOOTING STAR is an attention grabber.It will interest not only sports fans, but anyone looking for a story about the drive to succeed against personal odds.It is a real page-turner that I couldn't put down.

Reviewed by:Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" ... Read more

Product Description
This is destined to be the classic work on training theLabrador retriever as an all-around hunting dog. Noted breeder andtrainer Mike Gould takes us from the very beginning-selecting a puppyfor athleticism, "birdyness," conformation, intelligence, andpersonality-to the end result, a top-flight, do-anything, go-anywhereLabrador shooting dog. Mike teaches his special techniques of usinglove, solid obedience and faithful attention to detail to build-brickby brick-a powerful, poised and confident gun dog that can handle anychallenge, from quail, grouse and dove to geese, ducks, and even wildturkeys-yes, wild turkeys. Mike talks about the factors that othertrainers overlook: habitat, terrain, scenting conditions,conformation, and most of all, birds. The book includes a stunning16-page color section featuring the famous Grand River gun dogs, withphotos by K.D. McGraw and Gary Hubbell. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Excellent book!
The minute I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. I love the way Mike shows you on how to let your dog be an actual hunting dog and not just a dog for field trials. By reading his book you can tell Mike has an extreme love for dogs. I highly reccomend this book!

Not Very Useful To Me
While it is obvious that the author loves his Labs, this book isn't very useful for the average joe looking for training techniques.He spends more time talking about the dogs traits and his love for the dogs, telling stories (getting side-tracked) than specifics.If you already have one or more good training books, this one might supplement your knowledge on a deeper level, but that's about it.I do believe that the author is an excellent dog trainer, he has a great reputation, but this book won't make you like him.It's more of a novel, with a little training thrown in, than the manual I was expecting.If you are looking for a novel type book, you'll be satisfied, if you are looking for a manual, like me, you'll be disappointed and have to order another book.

Gun dog who hates guns
What a nice book! Read this in two sittings, with my huge six year old chocolate lab (with impeccable bird bloodlines) laying at my feet. He isn't a gun dog, but has great instincts. Gould's book isn't a "how-to" but a good primer on getting the feel of the dog and your relationship. My dog is a natural bred retriever---that's "his job" and he does it without training, but responds nicely to Mr. Gould's ideas about control. Haven't ventured into the field with my "house lab" but after reading, I may give it a try in the autumn. Nice diversion from the norm...recommended.

This Is The Best Dog Training Book
"Mike Gould id the most brilliant gun dog trainer in the world.
He has raised dog training to a higher plane.
Mike's dogs are happy dogs,
enthused and birdy dogs,
hunting fools,
who love their human companions and bond with them so the two of them become a hunting machine miraculous to see.

THIS IS THE BEST DOG TRAINING BOOK
I've ever read - and I've read 'em all!"
---Bill Tarrant,
former Gun Dog Editor of Field & Stream and Pulitzer Prize nominated author of "The Magic of Dogs"
[from the back cover of book]

Great book
This is a great book.After reading it, I feel completely motivated to train the best possible gun dog.The author shares many training tips and examples from training his own dogs.However, specific training workouts are left out.If you don't know what baseball, around the clock, the mowed H, and the mowed path...you will be very confused (as I was) in the handling section.I would still recommend the book, but also another "Water Dog" by Richard Wolters (classic dog training book - originally published in 1964!).He provides sufficient detail to fill in the blanks.Plus, they have similar views on some things but opposing views on others.This way you get a nice balanced view and can make up your own mind on how to train your dog most appropriately. ... Read more

Product Description
A thrilling, touching, and densely instructive book, Shooting the Boh is also a frank self-portrait of a woman facing her most corrosive fears--and triumphing over them--with fortitude and unflagging wit. "A captivating and truly offbeat rite of passage."--Eric Hansen.Amazon.com Review
Some women seek adventure to test their mettle, suck downjolts of adrenaline, and prove they haven't grown old and indolent. InShooting the Boh, journalist Tracy Johnston identifies othermotivations for joining a group scheduled to raft down a previouslyuncharted section of the Boh river in Borneo. "I am by nature apassive person who likes excitement; a person with no magnificentobsessions who loves to participate in them," she says. And, too,if she agreed to write an article about it, the trip was free.

So began an arduous, ill-conceived journey that started with herlosing a duffle bag of top-notch river gear and swiftly ran up againsttreacherous rapids, foot rot, hot flashes, Tarzan-like leeches, cloudsof sweat bees, and other nerve-racking flora and fauna. Whiletraversing a section of steamy rain forest, Johnston says, "aquarter of the things I touched had thorns or sharp spines and therest were covered with ants." She replays the highs and lows ofthe trip in Technicolor, summing up her fellow travelers and theirwild ride in fluid, punchy prose.--Francesca Coltrera ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Not my cup of tea
I just finished reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. prior to reading Shooting the Boh so my review may be colored by the drastic difference in these two books.I found this author to be very whiny.Nearly every chapter is filled with some new angst that she experiences, from back pain to losing her luggage, on and on and on.The descriptions in the book were less than emotional, I never felt connected to the characters and frankly I wasn't interested.

Actually, I was beginning to wonder if this story is even true.Some of it was rather unbelievable and I don't mean the parts about Borneo or the various bugs and other creatures.Here is a woman who has no soap, no shampoo, a teeny weeny washcloth sized towel and she is wearing contact lenses???No mention of lens solution, no mention of how she wears them when she is upside down underwater... does that make sense?She can't live without her air mattress because of her terrible hips and back but she ends up scaling rock walls and sleeping on rocks.I'm sorry but it was all a bit preposterous to me.

Overall, I wouldn't waste my time, only read it because it was chosen for our book club.There are too many other adventurous books out there, I would highly recommend reading one of those.

Avivid read
Although it's been a few years since I read this book, I remember it well. I'm rather surprised by how harshly some reviewers have reacted to the author. I've read quite a few "pure" adventure accounts, and quite a few that are adventure plus deeply thoughtful meditations on life and self. It seems to me that the author's book isn't quite either---and on purpose. While some have found the author annoyingly self-absorbed, I think that's part of the book's point: she's making observations on growing older, on being middle-aged and realizing what she's lost---and perhaps gained---in that process. I'm probably about the same age she is, so maybe it's easier for me to relate to what she's feeling about these things.

Her tale apparently first appeared in "Cosmopolitan", not "Outside" or "Sports Illustrated", and that makes her focus on herself and other people like Sylvie and Mike quite understandable. Her description of the monstrously humid rain forest is enough to make me glad I'm reading about it rather than experiencing it first-hand. If you're looking for a straightforward, white-knuckled, "I can bravely cope with anything" book---or one with profound insights into someone's innermost life---"Shooting the Boh" might disappoint. As a personal account of one woman and her trip to Borneo, I enjoyed it.

A can't-put-it-down kind of book
Tracey Johnston signed up with an adventure travel company for an exploratory rafting trip in Borneo and it turned out to be far longer and more dangerous than predicted.What a thrilling, true story!This is just the kind of book you want to read on a long, tedious airline flight to make the time fly.Believe me, you won't want to get off till you find out how it ends.

Great book!
It's been a few years since I read this book but I loved it.Middle-aged adventure with a great sense of humor.

More than she bargained for
This book tells the story of a journalist who nearly got killed adventuring in the backwoods of Borneo.At a party in San Francisco, Tracy Johnston met the president of Sobek, an outdoor adventure company.Sobek planned to offer a new white water route down the Boh River in Borneo.They were looking for crew members for the test-run, and were delighted to find Johnston, a proven writer who had previous white water experience.They offered her a free ride in exchange for publicity materials about the trip.So one fateful summer day in the early 1990s, Johnston landed in Jakarta to join the trip.Unfortunately, her luggage didn't land with her, but that was only the first of many challenges to come.During the course of the next few weeks, Johnston would find herself hurtling down an uncharted river, scrambling down muddy boulders, and swimming to save her skin, all while living intimately with folks that had been perfect strangers just days before.If the river trip in itself hadn't been enough, Johnston was also faced with coming to terms with changes in her own body, which had begun to develop the aches and pains of middle age. She found herself constantly comparing her performance, condition, and appearance to those of the others in the group, all younger than her.

I almost put this book down after the first few chapters, where Johnston comes across as a bit whiny or petty, and a not-so-skilled traveler, despite her experience. For instance, she explains how vital her air mattress was to her, yet she packed this item in her checked bag.Meanwhile, in her carry-on, she somehow had room for 2 sun dresses. She had already been to Indonesia the year before, but somehow during that trip, she had missed the fact that sun dresses are entirely inappropriate for the culture.We get rather shocked when French women take off their bathing suit tops on American beaches, but that pales to how Indonesians feel when tourists walk around showing bare shoulders and knee caps.For heaven sakes, when traveling, either follow local rules about covering parts of your body, or just stay home!Besides, Indonesia is one place to go where you don't need to pack any clothes at all.For women of average size, all you need to take in your carry-on (and checked bags, too, for that matter) is possibly a single change of shirt and some underwear.As soon as you arrive in the country, head to the nearest market, and you can purchase an entire wardrobe of attractive, comfortable clothing for less than what you might pay for a single outfit here.Meanwhile, in your carry-on, since you don't need to take other clothes, you'll have room for essentials like a camera, medications (especially aspirin and antiseptics), and maybe even an air mattress if you think you're going to need one.(Basically, the same advice goes for men, although larger men may have to look longer and go to tourist markets in order to find clothing in their size.)As Johnston meets up with the other female members of the crew, she is blown away by their beauty, and treats us to some catty remarks on their behavior.Finally, as the trip progresses, Johnston finds that in order to survive, she must become more introspective, and at this point, the story finally takes off.This is not a story about Borneo or Indonesia-instead it is a survival tale of hurtling down a river out of control. ... Read more

Product Description
The only companion book to the much-anticipated follow-up to Paul Thomas Anderson's critically hailed Boogie Nights that "leaves you no doubt you are in the presence of a natural-born filmmaker."--David Ansen, Newsweek. The much-heralded writer-director deliberately withheld information about his new film during production because "I feel lately as if I know everything about a movie before I see it, and I really want the audience to discover this purely." Featuring an ensemble cast (see below), in, in an unbilled role, Tom Cruise (who called Anderson to express interest in working with him), the film is now described as "a story about family relationships and bonds that have been broken and need to be mended in one day...set in the San Fernando Valley on a day full of rain with no clouds." Magnolia: The Illustrated Screenplay includes the complete shooting script, introduction and script notes by Anderson, a photo section with about 40 photos in color, and interview with the writer/director, and complete cast and crew credits.

The cast:

The Dying Father--Jason Robards
His Young Wife--Julianne Moore
The Caretaker--Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Boy Genius--Jeremy Blackman
His Father--Michael Bowen
The Game Show Host--Philip Baker Hall
The Daughter--Melora Walters
The Mother--Melinda Dillon
The Ex-Boy Genius--William H. Macy
The Police Officer in Love--John C. ReillyAmazon.com Review
At three hours long, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia qualifies as an epic, with a broad scope of characters whose lives become entwined over the course of a day in the San Fernando Valley. Despite its vast canvas, though, this is probably one of the most intimate epics you'll ever experience, because Anderson and his cast of actors delve into their characters so deeply that you feel you instantly know them. Anderson's screenplay of Magnolia is similar--a few pages in, you'll be hooked by the story and the characters. Numerous critics have derided Anderson's talents as a screenwriter while praising him to the skies as a director, but the screenplay for Magnolia shows a filmmaker at work with a keen eye for character development and a penchant for both brilliant monologues and amazingly deft one-liners. And unlike most published screenplays (which bill themselves as a "shooting script" but are in reality just a transcript of the finished product), this screenplay is truly the working script, complete with typos and scenes that didn't make it into the final cut of the film. Reading the screenplay, you'll see Tom Cruise's scenes with Jason Robards become more fleshed out, more scenes from Cruise's motivational workshop on "Seduce and Destroy," and most significantly, a subplot involving whiz kid Stanley Spector and the mysterious character known as "the Worm," who pops up only briefly in the film. Also included are some stunning color photographs and a great interview with Anderson, where you'll find out who gave him the idea of the rain of frogs, which character in the film is his favorite, and why he used a game-show milieu for a large part of the film. Truly a companion piece to the movie, a testament to the vision of a filmmaker, and, as Anderson puts it in his introduction, "an interesting study of a writer writing from his gut." --Mark Englehart ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Offbeat , but wonderful
I really enjoyed reading this screenplay. It's the kind of screenplay you can read and I know this might sound silly, but I actually felt I was inside the book with them all. P.T Anderson , has created intense, interesting characters that engulf your curiousity. You'll read this in one sitting. It's the kind of screenplay you don't want to put down. Definately worth owning. I wish I wrote it.

"Magnolia: The Shooting Script" is Awesome!
Paul Thomas Anderson is a very vulnerable & giving author!He really nurtures the reader with secrets that aren't even revealed in the wonderful "making of" additional feature on the DVD. Get both & you will be powerfully inspired by a true artist, who went against the rules & won brilliantly. Thank God award season appreciated the wonderful work of art Magnolia was, and still is in my collection.

Excellent film but the script????
I have to say when I first read the script I was kinda of disappointed because there are changed lines in it like the scene where Frank meets his father for the first time its almost completely changed but I'm not mad its cool reading stuff from what Anderson wrote first But disappointing there are so many great stuff that are in the film but not in the script thats why I'm disappointed. Its a very well done script but changed.

See Magnolia first and then read the screenplay.

Matt

Gold
Anderson is brilliant and this is a great screenplay to buy for anyone interested in screenwriting and/or directing.The story, or stories, are so compelling that the suspense is there even when you read this book.Good stuff, good times.

Pure Excellence
Magnolia is the only film that made me cry last year. The way the characters fall apart bit by bit makes this an amazing look into the lifes of people who appear to be strong. Every character in the script is amazingly ordinary and fasinating , and the actors who played them did a PERFECT job. Also how the film builds in tenison of saddness makes you wonder what will happen next. And then something you forget and unexpected happens. It is brillant, moving film. ... Read more

Product Description
San Francisco, present: A bold and sensual woman, Christina wishes the men she took to bed could be more like the warriors of the past: strong, sexy and just a little bit scary.

Scotland, 1320: On the verge of marrying a great warrior, convent-raised Christiania prays for a gentle man to save her from marriage to a man she fears.

A shooting star and a fervent wish for their heart's desire are all it takes for both women's dreams and wildest sexual desires to come true…

Warning! This novella contains some of the most dangerously erotic fiction Bella Andre has written. Extremely erotic M/f scenes that criss-cross time, with a little bondage as the cherry on top.

[Previously published in 2005. Completely edited, revised and rewritten in October 2010.]

REVIEWS....

"SHOOTING STARS is one of the greatest time travel romances that I have read. The characters are highly sensual and in touch with their sexuality. The storyline is sweet and romantic
and the sex scenes are steamy. What more could you ask for? Ms. Andre pens an out of this world novella that makes you want to wish on shooting stars and believe in true love, no matter what the cost…
~ Reviewed by Ansley Velarde for The Road to Romance

"Sassy and erotic, Shooting Stars is a great time travel. Both Christina and Christiania knew what they wanted and once they had it weren't afraid to grab it and do whatever necessary to ensure they kept it. Ms. Andre adds a high level of suspense and tension in addition to the love and sensuality. This is one quickie you don't want to miss!
~ Reviewed by Sharon McGinty for In the Library Reviews

"Ms. Andre brings her readers a hot and spicy short story with Shooting Stars.I thoroughly enjoyed this story."
~ Reviewed by Vikky for ARomanceReview.com ... Read more

Product Description
The newest original screenplay from the Oscar®-nominated writer of Adaptation and Being John Malkovich—the only book on his new film starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, and Mark Ruffalo.In the new Charlie Kaufman film directed by Michel Gondry, Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood) chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just can't get her out of his head.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: The Shooting Script includes the complete screenplay, a selection of black-and-white movie stills, selected production notes, and complete cast and crew credits. 20 b/w photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

THE BEST SCRIPT EVER
IT WAS A GREAT BOOK I PROMISE AND WILL REFER TO ANYONE ALSO THE MOVIE IS ALSO GREAT GET IT WHILE YOU CAN.

Eternal inspiration
This is a unique,imaginative, well crafted screenplay by Charlie Kaufman.
Like so many, I love the premise. "What if in your mail you find a kind of official card stipulating: 'We are acknowledging, Joel that Clementine has had you erased from her memory. Please do n't try and reach her."
And yet in the hands of an average screenwriter the movie could have been an average Hollywood film full of gags and predictable characters.
Instead Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,is an excellent plotted script where Kaufman instead of trying to get it right has celebratedand had fun with his creativity and constructed a brillant insightful story...Reminding us all of our own humanity and providing us to be a fly on the wallin the world of unforgettable characters.
Even if your like myself who own the DVDthere are gems in the script that ended up on the cutting room floor in particular the Velveteen Rabbit scene. Which is just beautiful.

Eternally spotless
"Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!/Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd... Desires compos'd, affections ever ev'n,/Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heav'n." The original Alexander Pope poem suits the movie whose title it inspired, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," a unique, surreal film about memories, love and sorrow.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" deals with timid, conservative Joel, who bumps into ex-girlfriend Clementine at a store -- and finds she doesn't remember him. He finds a notice in his mail that she has had him erased from her memories, and angrily decides to have the same done. But during the procedure, Joel revisits the good times they had together, and finds that he doesn't want to lose his memories with Clementine.

This movie, by Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman, was one of the best of 2004, and one that isn't quickly forgotten. The screenplay is an excellent accompaniment; if there is a line or an image that didn't seem to make sense, it might make more sense here. "Eternal Sunshine" fans will also like the scenes that never made it to the final cut, and one scene got shuffled around.

Additionally, there is an interview at the end with Kaufman. In it, he describes his writing background, his collaborations with Gondry, clashes with Ben Affleck's horrific "Paycheck," memory, and that wonderful "Velveteen Rabbit" scene. Although, it could have used more of Kaufman's thoughts on the final product and the actors.

The stumbling blocks? Don't try reading the screenplay BEFORE seeing the movie, or you will be hopelessly lost. The script cuts wildly from the past, the present, inside and outside the characters' heads. It works wonderfully on the screen, but on paper it's hard to visualize just by the words alone. That, and this richly visual film is only represented by some murky black-and-white photos.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is a wonderful script, which spawned a wonderful film. And for fans of that film, this is an excellent accompaniment and resource.

This is a truly beautiful movie...
This is a truly beautiful movie.I seriously think it is one of Jim Carey's best films.The cinematography is provocative and intelligent.The acting is flawless.And the plot is a well devised mesh of fantastical conception and blatant realism mixed with subtle humor.It should have one an award.It was certaintly better than Million Dollar Baby.

Thought provoking and truly original
This was a movie I didn't expect to like.I hadn't heard that much about it and wasn't all that enthusiastic about seeing another Jim Carey movie.Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

First of all, this movie is truly original.That's rare these days.It revolves around the premise that you can erase someone from your memories.In this case, the "someone" to be erased is Kate Winslet's character of Clementine.She is wacky and artsy, and plays against Carey's straightlaced character Joel perfectly.I had just seen an interview with Winslet before this movie and was amazed at her accurate American accent.Very well done.

And Carey is brilliant.His toned down, not over the top portrayal of Joel was delightful and wonderful.This is the first time I actually thought of Carey as a very good actor.Both Carey and Winslet deserve an Oscar for this film.

In addition, the film is beautifully shot as well.This could have been a very goofy movie, with a premise that was hard to actually get into and believe, but this film worked perfectly on all accounts:writing, cinematography, acting.I would recommend this film to anyone that wants to see a thoroughly enjoyable, funny, sweet, interesting, wonderful film that is unlike any you've seen before.

From the author of The Difference Now, A New Dish, and At the Coffee Shop. (www.thedifferencenow.com). ... Read more

Product Description
The shooting script of the acclaimed DreamWorks film starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, directed by Sam Mendes, winner of the 1999 Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. In the widely praised Newmarket Shooting Script(tm) series format, here is the complete shooting script of one of the best films of 1999. Also included in this volume are a fascinating essay about the screenplay and the making of the film by director Sam Mendes, an afterword by screenwriter Alan Ball recalling the genesis of the script, a twelve-page photo section, and the complete cast and crew credits.Amazon.com Review
"I read the screenplay and nearly fell out of bed. Ithought I better meet him quick before someone else readit."--Kevin Spacey

Actors and critics alike have praised AlanBall's first feature film screenplay, which tells the off-kilter storyof a midlife crisis suffered by Lester Burnham (played by Spacey). Forfans of the film's dialogue--and there will be many--the screenplayallows Ball's words as well as the film's inventive imagery, fromflying rose petals to a dancing plastic bag, to besavored.

Unfortunately for those wanting the inside scoop, thistext is not the original shooting script but rather the screenplay ofthe final cut. But the script is so impressive, that's a minorquibble. The accompanying notes from Ball and director Sam Mendes arequite insightful, hinting at a different original ending and revealingBall's odd inspiration for his idea: the tale of JoeyButtafuoco. Ball's TV background has made him an expert technicalwriter, and this book would serve as a great template for thefledgling screenwriter. It includes 20 black and white photos and acast list. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

great screenplay
reading the screenplay, you can tell why this movie was so powerful == it started with great writing.

Beautiful
I loved reading the screenplay just as much as I enjoyed watching the film.I'm interested in screenwriting myself and bought the screenplay as a guide to my own screenwriting -- what to do and what not to do, and especially how to format shots of a person videotaping as is done throughout this piece.Excellent teaching tool!

A great companion to the movie!
I loved the film, American Beauty.It is, quite simply, my favorite movie of all time!This screenplay is just as captivating as the movie...Because, in many ways, it is the movie!Alan Ball's script is really what made American Beauty the film that made jaded American moviegoers stand up and say "Thank you!"We can only hope that future filmmakers are taking note...Simply put, it is destined to become a treasured piece of modern Americana. :-)

***** for the text, * for production values of the book
If you have seen the movie, and were deeply touched by it, as seems inevitable, owning this screenplay is definitely worthwhile. Without having to put on the DVD, you can relive particular moments by just leafing through the pages. Alan Ball's script won multiple awards, and rightly so: it is a masterpiece of dramatic writing, merging the comical, the tragic and the spiritual in ways rarely seen in present day (American) film.
Yet this book isn't all it could, and in my view should, have been. It really offers very little besides the literal text of the final movie version (including some of Annette Bening's and Kevin Spacey's improvisations). Other film scripts I own include in-depth information about genesis, casting, production etc., loads of good still and behind-the-scenes photography, as well as discarded scenes and earlier versions of scenes. None of that here, even though several parts of the film were drastically altered during the filming. There is a 2-page intro by Mendes that adds nothing to the information contained on the DVD, if you own that; and the same goes for the even shorter afterword by Ball (who, on the DVD commentary track, isn't able to get a word in edgewise with Mendes, and so remains something of an enigma). Then there are a few grainy black and white stills that are an insult to the brilliant cinematography of the movie - and that's it. For makers of a film so ostentatiously concerned with the relativity of material things, it does seem like a rather cheap way to squeeze some extra bucks from it...

Today is the first day of the rest of your life?
Today is the first day of the rest of your life?

Yes.The amazing capability that we have to surprise ourselves and the surrounding life makes you to take control of every moment that you live. Live larger.

Lester has this capability. He never died . He just smiled. before taking a pause.

AMAZING BEAUTY. That's what I can write about this movie and the writer. ... Read more