An entertaining and insightful homage to America's favorite movie star, from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Tao of Bill Murray .Niceness gets a bad rap these days. Our culture rewards those who troll the hardest and who snark the most. At times it seems like there's no place anymore for optimism, integrity, and good old-fashioned respect. Enter "America's Dad": Tom Hanks. Whether he's buying espresso machine...

**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEREmpire • Christmas Gift Guide 2024: Books For Movie-Lovers"A superb chronicle of how Marvel Studios conquered Hollywood…. This definitive account of the Hollywood juggernaut thrills." —Publishers Weekly, starred reviewThe unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise—and suddenly uncertain reign—of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.**

Perfect for the Bill Murray fan in all of us, this epic collection of “Bill Murray stories”—many reported for the first time here—distills a set of guiding principles out of his extraordinary ability to infuse the everyday with surprise, absurdity, and wonder.No one will ever believe you.New York Times bestselling author Gavin Edwards, like the rest of us, has always been fascinated with Bill Murray—in particular the beloved actor’s advent...

New York Times–bestselling Author: "A crisply told biography" of Fred Rogers that "vibrantly captures [his] spirit and wisdom." — Publishers WeeklyFor more than thirty years, Fred Rogers was a beloved fixture in American homes. Warm and welcoming, he spoke directly to children—and their parents—about the marvels of the world, the things that worried them, and above all, the importance of being themselves. Dressed in his cardigan and sneakers, the c...

Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll, and . . . Ham Sandwiches?If you are a music fan, you may be aware of some of music’s most enduring mysteries. Where did Pearl Jam get their name? Are the White Stripes related by blood or by marriage? Did Mama Cass really die from choking on a ham sandwich? Gavin Edwards has heard just about every strange question, racy rumor, and legend of the music world. As the writer of Rolling Stone’s “Rolling Stone Knows” column, Edwards proved himself as a...

A fascinating exploration and celebration of the life and work of the coolest man in Hollywood, Samuel L. Jackson—from his star-making turns in the films of Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino to his ubiquitous roles in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, not to mention the cult favorite Snakes on a Plane.Samuel L. Jackson’s embodiment of cool isn’t just inspirational—it’s important. Bad Motherfucker lays out how his attitude intersects with his iden...

Travis Barker’s soul-baring memoir chronicles the highlights and lowlights of the renowned drummer’s art and his life, including the harrowing plane crash that nearly killed him and his traumatic road to recovery—a fascinating never-before-told-in-full story of personal reinvention grounded in musical salvation and fatherhood.After breaking out as the acclaimed drummer of the multiplatinum punk band Blink-182, everything changed for Travis Barker. But the dark side of rock stardom ...

Perfect for the Bill Murray fan in all of us, this epic collection of “Bill Murray stories”—many reported for the first time here—distills a set of guiding principles out of his extraordinary ability to infuse the everyday with surprise, absurdity, and wonder.No one will ever believe you.New York Times bestselling author Gavin Edwards, like the rest of us, has always been fascinated with Bill Murray—in particular the beloved actor’s advent...

The book analyses attempts by Dickens and other nineteenth-century writers to challenge established ways of using the distinction between upper and lower case letters, in the interests of a wider radicalism. It discusses Dickens’s satire - on ‘Shares’ in Our Mutual Friend, on Paul Dombey’s position as the ‘Son’ of Dombey and Son - alongside the proto-modernist typography of suffragist poet Augusta Webster and the work of Marx’s translators transforming German conventions ...

Marvel Studios is the dominant player in Hollywood and global pop culture, having generated almost $30 billion in revenue and remade the entire business of movies and mass entertainment. Yet its origin story is as unlikely as that of any of its beloved superheroes. How did Marvel conquer the world? And will it be able to survive its own outrageous success?In MCU, culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred original interviews—with e...

Weird fiction is an incredibly rich and varied genre, running the gamut from supernatural horror to imaginary-world fantasy to psychological terror. This anthology seeks to exhibit the wide range of themes, motifs, and imagery that weird fiction allows, as embodied in the work of some of the leading contemporary writers in the field.The ghost or revenant is a venerable motif, and stories by John Shirley, Lynda E. Rucker, and Reggie Oliver ring fascinating changes on it. Allied to t...

A biography elucidating the Academy Award–nominee's meteoric rise, his tragic end, and his legacy.At the dawn of the 1990s, a new crew of leading men—Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt—was rocketing toward stardom. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. But behind Phoenix's talent and beautiful public face was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young ...