This book restarted the James Dean cult by celebrating him as the cool, defiant visionary of pop culture who made adolescence seem heroic instead of awkward and who defined the style of rock n rolls politics of delinquency. The only book to show fully how deliberately and carefully Dean created his own image and performances, and the product of still unequalled research, vivid writing, intimate photographs, and profound meditation, James Dean: The...

Welcome to Hollywood, circa 1950, the end of the Golden Age. A remarkably handsome young boy, still a teenager, gets "discovered" by a big-time movie agent. Because when he takes his shirt off young hearts beat faster, because he is the picture of innocence and trust and need, he will become a star. It seems almost preordained. The open smile says, "You will love me," and soon the whole world does. The young boy's name was Tab Hunter, a made-up name,...

There is-and could only ever be-one Billy Bob Thornton:  actor, musician, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, and accidental Hollywood badass. In The Billy Bob Tapes, he leads us into his Cave Full of Ghosts, spinning colorful tales of his modest (to say the least) Southern upbringing, his bizarre phobias (komoda dragons?), his life, his loves (including his marriage to fellow Oscar winner Angelina Jolie), and, of course, his movie career. Best of...

He was one of the brightest stars in Hollywood, a hard-charging actor whose intensity on the screen was mirrored in his personal life. As Kirk Douglas grew older, he became less impetuous and more reflective. In this poignant and inspiring new memoir, Douglas contemplates what life is all about, weighing current events from his frame of mind at ninety while summoning the passions of his younger days. Kirk Douglas was a born storyteller, and throughout...

Put down your sissy drink with its umbrella, get off your backside, and square yourself away. Get fit, get a job, and get yourself some self-respect. America's favorite, most in-your-face sarge is going to show you how to get squared away like a Marine. R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, of The History Channel's Mail Call, takes time out from telling viewers all about military technology, to tell readers all about life. Men today are facing a crisis of emasculation....