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Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (Jewish Lives)
by Liel LeibovitzFrom the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a meditation on the deeply Jewish and surprisingly spiritual roots of Stan Lee and Marvel Comics Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created—Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four—occupy Hollywood’s imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee’s ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural and religious upbringing and draws surprising connections between celebrated comic book heroes and the ancient tales of the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. Was Spider-Man just a reincarnation of Cain? Is the Incredible Hulk simply Adam by another name? From close readings of Lee’s work to little-known anecdotes from Marvel’s history, the book paints a portrait of Lee that goes much deeper than one of his signature onscreen cameos.About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." – New York times "Exemplary." – Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." – New Yorker "Superb." – The Guardian
Stand and Deliver: My Autobiography
by Adam AntOne of the most successful pop stars of the 80s, his face adorning posters on teenager's walls from Acton to Akron, Adam Ant was a phenomenon. Now in this frank and revealing autobiography, he tells the full story of his amazing life from his dysfunctional childhood to his key role in the punk movement and creation of a unique musical style that brought him a string of hits (both singles and albums). At one point he was so famous other stars sought his company and advice - even Michael Jackson called in the dead of night to ask about music and clothes. His many girlfriends included Jamie Lee Curtis and Heather Graham and for a time he lived in LA, acting in fifteen films. Adam also writes honestly about his life-long battle with manic depression. His first episodes were triggered by the stress of living with a violent, alcoholic father, and he tried to commit suicide when he was at art school. A gruelling episode with a stalker in LA precipitated a mental breakdown, and a stalker in London led to his well-publicised arrest and hospitalization in 2001. At times funny and at other times tragic, this is gripping account of the turbulent life and times of one of music's most fascinating figures. 'A whirlwind story of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, suicide attempts and deranged stalkers' Time Out 'With plenty of lessons to be learned about fame's downside, [this] is an intriguing tale, well and honestly told' Q Magazine
Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul
by John KasichFormer longtime U.S. congressman, respected author, and popular television host, John Kasich tackles head-on the erosion of long-standing, hard-earned values upon which our nation is built."Honesty, integrity, personal responsibility, faith, humility, accountability, compassion, forgiveness...These are our American values, our common denominators..." Drawing on his childhood growing up in blue-collar McKees Rocks, PA, his college years, his Washington career, and his most recent turn in the private sector, Kasich reminds us of the fundamental principles that are our American legacy.In blunt, straight-shooting tones, he reveals new ways to hold our government officials accountable for their actions, and how to pressure sports figures to start living up to their role model status. He encourages us to have the gumption to be morally responsible business leaders who look beyond the bottom line, and shows us how courageous people of faith have helped transform their communities. He inspires parents to improve their children's schools, reminding us that our educational institutions need dollars and sense to compete on a global scale.And, saving the "best" for last, he takes on American popular culture, including the media, and asks us to use our wallets, the free press, and our own good judgment to protest all that is offensive in the current American way of life. Leadership starts with you, Kasich tells us. "We all share the power to grow and change and reimagine the world," he writes. "If you see something happening that sets you off, rise up and do something about it."John Kasich's book is a rallying cry for all Americans that will make us think and-most important-make us get out of our easy chairs and Stand for Something.
Stand In Your Power
by Rachael Smith'I love [Rachael's] comics - human, humane, funny and always surprising.' Chris Addison, comedian and director of VeepAfter going through a breakup and attempting to get on with her new, single life, award-winning comic-creator and author of Quarantine Comix, Rachael Smith, found solace in documenting her experiences through comic strips.Stand in Your Power, which follows on from where Wired Up Wrong left off, takes on the universal yet highly personal topics of loneliness, friendship, depression, love, figuring out who you are and moving on, among many others.Always extremely relatable, this collection, which was previously shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print award, has Rachael's trademark warmth, honesty and humour.
Stand-Up or Die
by Andy de la TourOriginally part of the UK alternative comedy scene, Andy de la Tour spent many years on the circuit, performing with the likes of Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, Alexei Sayle and French and Saunders. After a 20‐year break from stand‐up he returned to New York City, the genre’s spiritual home, to start all over again in the back‐rooms and dive bars of the Big Apple.This is one man’s journey through New York’s underground comedy scene. From ‘Rubber Bullets’ in lower Manhattan to the ‘Hot Tub’ in Brooklyn, Andy takes the stand. Can he makethem laugh? Will New Yorkers stomach his outsider’s take on Obama, the Tea Party and 9/11? Andy’s a long way from home and dying is not an option.
Standing for Something: Life in the Awkward Squad
by Mark SeddonMark Seddon is best known in Britain as a leading member of the Awkward Squad, a thorn in the flesh of New Labour as editor of Tribune, house magazine of the Left, for over a decade. In that role and as a member of Labour's National Executive Committee, he scurried around the corridors of power, gaining a unique perspective on the activities of Blair, Brown and Mandelson - and of less familiar figures who played their part in the story of New Labour. Standing for Something is the record of an unusual political life played out on an international stage.
Standing in the Wings: The Beatles, Brian Epstein and Me
by Joe Flannery Dr Mike BrockenJoe Flannery has been described as the ‘Secret Beatle’, and as the business associate and partner of Brian Epstein, he became an integral part of The Beatles’ management team during their rise to fame in the early 1960s. Standing in the Wings is Flannery’s account of this fascinating era, which included the controversial dismissal of Pete Best from the group (nothing to do with London, but matters back in Liverpool), Brian Epstein’s fragility, and the importance of the Star Club in Hamburg. This book is not simply a biography, as it also considers issues to do with sexuality in 1950s Liverpool, the vagaries of the music business at that time and the hazards of personal management in the ‘swinging sixties’. At its heart, Standing in the Wings provides an in-depth look at Flannery’s personal and professional relationship with Epstein and his close links with the Fab Four. Shortly before John Lennon’s murder in 1980, it was Flannery who was one of the last people in the UK to talk to the great man. Indeed, Flannery remains one of the few ‘Beatle people’ in Liverpool to have the respect of the surviving Beatles, and this is reflected in this timely and revealing book.
Standing My Ground: The Autobiography
by Brendan CumminsBrendan Cummins has made more senior hurling championship appearances than any other player in the history of the game. In an era that produced such brilliant goalkeeping talents as Davy Fitzgerald, Donal Óg Cusack and Damien Fitzhenry, many would argue that Cummins has earned the right to be considered the greatest of them all. Following his League debut for Tipperary in November 1993, Cummins went on to play at the top of the intercounty game for 19 consecutive seasons. He won two senior All Ireland medals, five Munster championships, four League titles and five All Star awards.From fearless shot-stopping to pinpoint accuracy on his puck-outs, Cummins was unrivalled in the consistency of his performances, a consistency underpinned by a sometimes punishing physical commitment, mental discipline and great attention to detail. He was the rock upon which Tipperary built their team under many managers and changes of personnel. Brendan Cummins' story is the story of Tipperary hurling over the last two decades. The ups and downs. The dramas. The characters. From his senior championship debut in 1995 under Fr. Tom Fogarty to his final games under Eamon O’Shea, Cummins has seen it all. Standing My Ground is a remarkable account of an extraordinary career.
Standing on the Shoulders: Incredible Heroes and How They Inspire Us
by Dan Walker'SUCH AN INCREDIBLE READ' ZOE BALLWith a foreword by 2021 Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose Ayling-Ellis.Dan Walker is back, determined to keep shining a light on the kindness, compassion and selflessness which continue to characterise so many people and their actions right across the country.As one of the UK's leading journalists, Dan has made it his life work to focus on people who often act as the catalysts for change: the unheralded champions who frequently go without getting the recognition they deserve.The new book from the author of the bestselling Remarkable People contains a totally fresh batch of humble heroes whose actions, bravery and determination have helped shape their communities. Standing on the Shoulders asks who are these little-known marvels and what makes them tick? What do they have in common? What can we all learn from them? Is there something special in the chain of events? What does it take to make a lasting impact on others?History can be cruel and forgetful to those who don't shout about their own success or good deeds, but Standing on the Shoulders is a beautifully-written and illuminating celebration of ordinary people and the extraordinary things they do. It is also a timely reminder of the goodness and positivity that drives us forward during challenging times.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A Cultural Analysis of Manchester United
by Søren FrankA unique thematic history of Manchester United from the club's creation as humble Newton Heath in 1878 to its status as the world's greatest football brand, this book gets to the essence of the heart and soul of the club. Key topics explored include the club's ability to rise from the ashes, commitment to youth, propensity for an adventurous style of football, glamour, and commercialization and aggressive marketing.An intelligent and thought-provoking narrative of Manchester United exploring its cultural history within the broader cultural framework of globalization, working class traditions, mythology and the Munich Air Disaster, and pop culture. Søren Frank introduces a football aesthetics that examines and discusses what sets Manchester United apart in regard to football philosophy. It contains microanalyses of some of the most fascinating matches or moments, as well as original portraits of some of the club's greatest players, all of this peppered with fascinating statistical facts in the club's history.
Standing Up: A Memoir of a Funny (Not Always) Life
by Marion GrodinMarion Grodin, daughter of funnyman Charles Grodin, knows firsthand that laughter is truly the best medicine, having not only survived breast cancer and divorce, but also, various addictions-including an inappropriate relationship with Haagen Dazs. Her hilarious riffs include; the story of growing large breasts that appeared seemingly overnight (Unfortunately this happened during the summer that she spent on the set of King Kong with her father and Jeff Bridges on whom she developed a huge crush); Her post divorce life, its slight weight gain and how she relied on her wise support group, her cats "BabyFighter" Edmond and "fashionably sporty, forensic expert" Snuggles. In this cleverly written memoir Marion integrates her diverse and challenging life experiences and unstoppable ability to make everything funny in a way that is both entertaining and helpful. She hopes that her book will send a message to those who feel they are misfits and to those locked in addiction: there is a way out - and life can be very good when you kick the habit.
Stanley: Africa's Greatest Explorer
by Tim JealHenry Morton Stanley was a cruel imperialist - a bad man of Africa. Or so we think: but as Tim Jeal brilliantly shows, the reality of Stanley's life is yet more extraordinary. Few people know of his dazzling trans-Africa journey, a heart-breaking epic of human endurance which solved virtually every one of the continent's remaining geographical puzzles. With new documentary evidence, Jeal explores the very nature of exploration and reappraises a reputation, in a way that is both moving and truly majestic.
Stanley: The Making Of An African Explorer (Oxford Lives Ser.)
by Frank McLynnSir Henry Morton Stanley, greatest of African explorers, was one of the most fascinating late Victorian adventurers. Born into poverty and illegitimacy, he survived a series of incredible adventures at sea and in the USA to emerge as a journalist of talent after the American Civil War. His coverage of the British Ethiopian expedition to chastise Emperor Theodore brought him to the attention of James Gordon Bennett who commissioned him to find David Livingstone in Africa, the greatest single feat in African exploration. Yet behind the public man lay a disturbed personality. A pathological liar with sadomasochistic tendencies, Stanley's achievements exacted a high human cost. As Frank McLynn's masterly study shows, his foundation of the Congo Free State on behalf of Leopold II of Belgium, and the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition were both dubious enterprises which tarnished his reputation, revealing the complex - and often troubling - relationship that Stanley had with Africa.
Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker (Jewish Lives)
by David MikicsAn engrossing biography of one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history Kubrick grew up in the Bronx, a doctor’s son. From a young age he was consumed by photography, chess, and, above all else, movies. He was a self†‘taught filmmaker and self†‘proclaimed outsider, and his films exist in a unique world of their own outside the Hollywood mainstream. Kubrick’s Jewishness played a crucial role in his idea of himself as an outsider. Obsessed with rebellion against authority, war, and male violence, Kubrick was himself a calm, coolly masterful creator and a talkative, ever†‘curious polymath immersed in friends and family. Drawing on interviews and new archival material, Mikics for the first time explores the personal side of Kubrick’s films.
Stanley Spencer (Text Only): A Biography
by Ken PopleStanley Spencer (1891 – 1959) has recently been recognised by a wide general public, as well as by art historians, as probably the greatest English painter of the twentieth century.
A Star Called Henry: On-line Retail (The\last Roundup Ser.)
by Roddy DoyleA new edition to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. With an introduction by Roy Foster.Born in the Dublin slums of 1901, his father a one-legged whorehouse bouncer and settler of scores, Henry Smart has to grow up fast. By the time he can walk he's out robbing and begging, often cold and always hungry, but a prince of the streets. By Easter Monday, 1916, he's fourteen years old and already six-foot-two, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army. A year later he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and a killer. With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a Republican legend - one of Michael Collins' boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike.
The Star Factory
by Ciaran CarsonOne of Ireland's most celebrated writers, musicians, and poets, Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast and has spent his life there. In The Star Factory, he makes himself the cartographer of his home city's spaces, symbolic and literal, the scribe of its byways and avenues, from Abbey Road to Zetland Street. Belfast has seen transformation: once the fifth-greatest industrial city in the world, the home of the S.S. Titanic, it has more recently been a battleground of sectarian slaughter. To conjure up the lives lived there, Carson plunges down the 'wormhole of memory' – admiring along the way the strata and roots beneath the surface. Though it has experienced more than its share of urban decay – the Star Factory of the title is an abandoned mill – Carson's Belfast teems with stories, stories that can spring from a telephone directory, a cigarette case, a postcard, a book about tramways, a stamp. For the eye that knows where to look, and the ear that can listen, gems and melodies are everywhere. The Star Factory is an elegy of magical power and enduring love, a work of passion and precision, and sure to be considered one of the finest books about Ireland ever written.
A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away (Turner Classic Movies)
by Lorna Luft Jeffrey Vance Turner Classic MoviesNew York Times bestselling author and daughter of Judy Garland tells the story of A Star Is Born -- at once the crowning achievement and greatest disappointment in her mother's legendary career. This is a vivid account of a film classic's production, loss, and reclamation.A Star Is Born -- the classic Hollywood tale about a young talent rising to superstardom, and the downfall of her mentor/lover along the way -- has never gone out of style. It has seen five film adaptations, but none compares to the 1954 version starring Judy Garland in her greatest role. But while it was the crowning performance of the legendary entertainer's career, the production turned into one of the most talked about in movie history.The story, which depicts the dark side of fame, addiction, loss, and suicide, paralleled Garland's own tumultuous life in many ways. While hitting alarmingly close to home for the fragile star, it ultimately led to a superlative performance -- one that was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. Running far too long for the studio's tastes, Warner Bros. notoriously slashed extensive amounts of footage from the finished print, leaving A Star is Born in tatters and breaking the heart of both the film's star and director George Cukor.Today, with a director's cut reconstructed from previously lost scenes and audio, the 1954 A Star is Born has taken its deserved place among the most critically acclaimed movies of all time, and continues to inspire each new generation that discovers it. Now, Lorna Luft, daughter of Judy Garland and the film's producer, Sid Luft, tells the story of the production, and of her mother's fight to save her career, as only she could. Teaming with film historian Jeffrey Vance, A Star Is Born is a vivid and refreshingly candid account of the crafting, loss, and restoration of a movie classic, complemented by a trove of images from the family collection taken both on and off the set. The book also includes essays on the other screen adaptations of A Star Is Born, to round out a complete history of a story that has remained a Hollywood favorite for close to a century.
A Star is Born: The Moment an Actress becomes an Icon
by George TiffinMarlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve... Feted, adored and desired, successful movie actresses are icons of modern culture. But what was it that made them true stars? Was it looks, talent, drive, personality – or just plain luck? What was the first captivating image or unforgettable line that etched them indelibly on our collective memory – and transformed the screen actress of the passing movie credit into the screen goddess of eternal legend? In a sequence of elegant pen-portraits, George Tiffin takes a microscope to the movies and the moments that established 75 female icons of cinema. These penportraits are supplemented by quotes, notes and anecdotes, including script excerpts from key scenes. From Oscar-winners to ingénues, and from grande dames to femmes fatales, A STAR IS BORN is a seductive celebration of the eternal feminine at the heart of the movie business – and an informal and engaging history of cinema itself.
Star of the Morning (Text Only): The Extraordinary Life Of Lady Hester Stanhope (text Only)
by Kirsten EllisThe dramatic story of Lady Hester Stanhope – a wilful beauty turned bohemian adventurer – who left England as a young woman, unashamedly enjoyed a string of lovers and established her own exotic fiefdom in the Lebanese mountains where she died in 1839.
A Star Shines Over Mt. Morris Park: Mercy Of A Rude Stream Volume 1 - ‘A masterpiece, not remotely like anything else in American literature’ (Mercy Of A Rude Stream Ser. #Vol. 3)
by Henry Roth'A landmark of the American literary century' Boston GlobeSixty years after the publication of his great modernist masterpiece, Call It Sleep, Henry Roth returned with Mercy of a Rude Stream - a sequence of four internationally-acclaimed epic novels of immigrant life in early-twentieth century New York.In Henry Roth's extraordinary novel we are introduced to Ira Stigman and his dazzlingly-evoked immigrant world of New York's Jewish Harlem. It is 1914 and the news of the outbreak of war is the first of many events to impinge on Ira's life and that of his family. Here is a boy struggling with racism, with his raging and unpredictable father, with the unsettling emergence of sexuality and with a world in the grip of momentous change. 'The literary comeback of the century' Vanity Fair'As unquenchably vibrant with life as the immigrants whose existence it commemorates' Sunday Times 'A dynamic and moving event . . . a stirring portrait of a vanished culture . . . a poignant chapter in the life-drama of a unique American writer' Newsweek'Although it is sixty years since a new novel by Mr Roth last hit the bookshelves, it has been worth the wait' The Economist'Fresh and touching' Wall Street Journal'A precision of detail which brings the sounds from the tenements, the heat of the sidewalk steaming off the pages' Sunday Express 'A meticulous evocation of a now-distant episode of the American experience' New York Times Book ReviewMercy of a Rude Stream: The Complete Novels includes 1) A Star Shines Over Mt. Morris Park2) A Diving Rock on the Hudson3) From Bondage4) Requiem for Harlem.
Star Studies: A Critical Guide (Film Stars Series (PDF))
by Martin Shingler Susan Smithtar Studies: A Critical Guide provides a lively introduction to the major approaches and key developments within this key area of film studies. It identifies a number of dominant themes, explains major theories, concepts and methodologies, and explores the diversity of approaches that have helped shape the international study of stars and stardom. Comparing the stars and star systems of Hollywood, Bollywood, China and many European countries, from the early-twentieth to the first decade of the twenty-first century, Martin Shingler considers the multiple functions of stars: as an elite workforce within the film industry, as actors and performers, as role models and cultural representatives, as icons and images, as transnational and national symbols, and as commodities. The scope of star studies is wide, historically and geographically, but this book helpfully focuses on salient features of the discipline, providing a cogent overview of star studies, while suggesting some useful avenues for further research. Published in the BFI Film Stars series, Star Studies provides an essential theoretical and historical companion to the individual star volumes in the series.
Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael
by Richard M. SudhalterGeorgia on My Mind, Rockin' Chair, Skylark, Lazybones, and of course the incomparable Star Dust--who else could have composed these classic American songs but Hoagy Carmichael? He remains, for millions, the voice of heartland America, eternal counterpoint to the urban sensibility of Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Now, trumpeter and historian Richard M. Sudhalter has penned the first book-length biography of the man Alec Wilder hailed as "the most talented, inventive, sophisticated and jazz-oriented of all the great songwriters--the greatest of the great craftsmen." Stardust Melody follows Carmichael from his roaring-twenties Indiana youth to bandstands and recording studios across the nation, playing piano and singing alongside jazz greats Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and close friends Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. It illuminates his peak Hollywood years, starring in such films as To Have and Have Not and The Best Years of Our Lives, and on radio, records and TV. With compassionate insight Sudhalter depicts Hoagy's triumphs and tragedies, and his mounting despair as rock-and-roll drowns out and lays waste to the last days of a brilliant career. With an insider's clarity Sudhalter explores the songs themselves, still fresh and appealing while reminding us of our innocent American yesterdays. Drawing on Carmichael's private papers and on interviews with family, friends and colleagues, he reveals that "The Old Music Master" was almost as gifted a wordsmith as a shaper of melodies. In all, Stardust Melody offers a richly textured portrait of one of our greatest musical figures, an inspiring American icon.
Stardust Memories: Talking About My Generation
by Ray ConnollyThe extraordinary decade of the 1960's was always slightly out of sync. It began late - with a remarkable flourish in 1963 with The Beatles, That Was the Week That Was, the Profumo affair and the Great Train Robbery all competing in an atmosphere of giggling frivolity for newspaper headlines - and ended in the early seventies in disillusionment, growing unemployment and accelerating inflation. During that period Ray Connolly was at the centre of the whirlpool of popular arts and rock music, and his weekly journalistic profile of the famous and infamous became an acknowledged notice-board for the style-makers of the sixties. This book collects fifty of his most celebrated character studies and for the most part the subjects are men and women from the author's own age-group - Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton, Peter Fonda, David Bailey and Germaine Greer - young people who saw the opportunity to make waves during that era of extravagance, and whose images we saw reflected everywhere. In compiling this book, Ray Connolly has been able to recall the superstars of that time and also to discover what has happened to them since those days of heady optimism.