HOW ONE MAN FOUND A WAY OF LAUGHTER AND GAVE IT TO THE WORLDEvery American has at one time or another known the pleasure of watching Joe E. Brown. Mirth-maker Joe, clown-prince of movies, radio and TV, however, is more than just a dispenser of gaiety and laughter.Ralph Hancock, famed foreign correspondent, has drawn a most accurate picture of one of the country's outstanding citizens. You'll laugh with, and feel sympathy for comedian Joe—the grease-painted Pagliacci of the fo...

Few people have influenced Hollywood history thanDouglas Fairbanks. And who better than his niece and Fairbanks familyhistorian, Letitia, to relate that story? On-screen and offscreen, he was aforce of nature, progressing in easy leaps and bounds from the Broadwaystage to silent movies when feature-length film was just a few years old.His happy, healthy characters and acrobatic acting style brought a newenergy to the medium. But it was through his ...

Can we run our lives and govern our societies by reason? The question provoked Socrates to redirect philosophic inquiry in a political direction, and it has remained fundamental to Western thought. Martin Heidegger explored this problem in his profound critique of the Western metaphysical tradition, and Leo Strauss responded to Heidegger with an attempt to recover the classical idea of the rule of reason.In The Responsibility of Reason, Ralph C. Hancock undertakes no less than to a...

Told in the charming and self-deprecating style that has made him one of America’s most beloved celebrities—the real story behind Hollywood legend James Garner, from his Depression-era childhood to his colorful career.His incredible story, in his own words.One of Hollywood’s all-time great leading men, James Garner enjoyed a remarkable career spanning six decades, and whether you know him as Bret Maverick or Jim Rockford, his appeal bridges generations. Few...

Erich Fromm sees right to the heart of our contradictory needs for community and for freedom like no other writer before or since. In Fear of Freedom, Fromm warns that the price of community is indeed high, and it is the individual who pays. Fascism and authoritarianism may seem like receding shadows for some, but are cruel realities for many. Erich Fromm leaves a valuable and original legacy to his readers - a vastly increased understanding of the human character in relation to s...

The definitive biography of John Candy—a heartwarming portrait of one of comedy’s most beloved and enduring stars.INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Vulture's #1 Comedy Book of 2025 • A Globe and Mail, National Post, and CBC Best Book of 2025"Reading this book was like reconnecting with an old friend. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end.” —Judd Apatow“A thoughtful, thorou...

The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition.In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock t...

The fortieth anniversary edition of the "shocking" #1 New York Times bestseller with a bonus story by the author, "Never Got to Say Goodbye" ( Los Angeles Times).When Christina Crawford's harrowing chronicle of child abuse was first published in 1978, it brought global attention to the previously closeted subject. It also shed light on the guarded world of Hollywood and stripped away the façade of Christina's relentless, alcoholic abuser: her adop...

Encyclopedia of PhilosophyTABLE OF CONTENTS: I. Introduction II. Branches of Philosophy III. Schools of Thoughts IV. Political Philosophy V. Ancient Philosophy VI. Medieval Philosophy VII. Modern Philosophy List of Philosophers Glossary I. IntroductionIntroduction: Western philosophy Philosophical doctrines Ethics and political philosophy in the West Applied philosophy Eastern philosophy African philosophyEastern and Western Philosophy: Eastern WesternHistory of Western Philosophy: Ancient...

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The raw, candid, unvarnished memoir of an American icon. The greatest movie star of the past 75 years covers everything: his traumatic childhood, his career, his drinking, his thoughts on Marlon Brando, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, John Huston, his greatest roles, acting, his intimate life with Joanne Woodward, his innermost fears and passions and joys. With thoughts/comments throughout from Joanne Woodward, George Roy Hill, Tom Cruise, Elia K...

A challenging new look at the great thinkers whose ides have shaped our civilizationFrom Socrates to Sartre presents a rousing and readable introduction to the lives, and times of the great philosophers. This thought-provoking book takes us from the inception of Western society in Plato’s Athens to today when the commanding power of Marxism has captured one third of the world. T. Z. Lavine, Elton Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, makes philos...

Many people regard Hegel's work as obscure and extremely difficult, yet his importance and influence are universally acknowledged. Professor Singer eliminates any excuse for remaining ignorant of the outlines of Hegel's philosophy by providing a broad discussion of his ideas and an account of his major works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect w...