Issue: Fall 2017

Fall Reading

Halloween is approaching and Thanksgiving isn’t far behind, which means it’s time for holiday gift shopping. Here are a few interesting choices...

"Hollywood at Play" celebrates classic Hollywood and its larger-than-life personalities with an affectionate and nostalgic trip back in time to an era of glamour, elegance, and charm. Authors Donovan Brandt, Mary Mallory and Stephen X. Sylvester have assembled quite an interesting array of iconic and rarely seen images of Golden Era movie stars enjoying life off-camera. "Hollywood at Play" takes a refreshing and lighthearted look at a slower and simpler age when celebrities could relax and be themselves. Spanning the years 1925-1960, the book shows vintage Hollywood restaurants such as Pirate’s Den, the Brown Derby, Ciro’s and World War II’s Hollywood Canteen. Also included are beloved sites like Gilmore Field, Hollywood Park and Disneyland and striking photos of stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart, Clint Eastwood, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Judy Garland (Lyons Press).

Celebrating its long running influence, "The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia" (Chicago Review Press) by Steven Jay Rubin aims to share every tidbit of knowledge about the show’s production. Published with the full cooperation of creator Rod Serling’s estate, this collectible compendium includes never-before-seen photographs and new interviews with principal actors, producers, writers and directors involved in the series. A treasure trove of facts, observations, trivia and minutia for both the casual fan and the obsessive diehard, this is an expertly compiled tribute to one of the most memorable and significant series of all time. 

For the first time, the cities of Los Angeles and Paris are illustrated in parallel. "Why LA, Pourquoi Paris?" represents a visionary approach to a comparative study of two major, contemporary metropolises. As a long-time resident of both cities and a successful entrepreneur, author Diane Ratican curates visual pairings of Los Angeles and Paris with a newfound appreciate for their similarities, differences and eccentricities. Primarily an art book, this visual publication playfully connects the dots between respective architectural icons, historical legends, fashion trends and cultural peculiarities. With the added benefit of historic information and cultural trivia, this is a unique visual guide for visitors to Los Angeles and/or Paris (Illustre Books).

"Twentieth Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment" by Michael Troyan with Jeffrey Paul Thompson and Stephen X. Slyvester is a first-time look at the remarkable American multi-national mass media empire and its century of entertainment 1915-2015. The controversies and scandals are included, as are the extraordinary achievements. Among other firsts, the book at over 700 pages offers fun tours of its historic production and ranch facilities including never-before-told stories about its stars and creative personalities. The authors primarily tell a celebratory tale, but most important, an accurate one or, to borrow the title of a classic 1959 Fox film, The Best of Everything (Lyons Press). 

"Miss D and Me" is a story of two powerful women, one at the end of her life and the other at the beginning. The frame of the story is a four-day road trip from Biarritz to Paris. As Bette Davis aged she was looking for an assistant, but she found something more than that in Kathryn Sermak—a loyal and loving buddy, a co-conspirator in her jokes and schemes, and a competent assistant whom she trained never to miss a detail. The book is a window into the world of the unique and formidable Bette Davis, told by the person who perhaps knew her best of all. Co-written with journalist Danelle Morton, Kathryn Sermak is also co-founder of the Bette Davis Foundation and co-executor of her estate (Hachette Books). DH