In the early morning of July 31, 1952, a murder occurred in a dingy bar in a small resort town in the uppermost part of northern Michigan. The trial that followed, in which young army lieutenant Coleman Peterson was tried for murdering the bar owner, inspired a number-one bestselling novel and an Academy Award-nominated film. Showcasing the far-reaching power of a single crime, The Anatomy of a Murder Trilogy: A Classic Trial, Book, and Film follows the murder from the barroom to the court room to the theatrical release of Anatomy of a Murder in 1959.
Now in one volume, the complete Kansas Murder Trilogy. KING HARVEST In the summer of 1975 a group of young men known as “the boys” make their stab for freedom harvesting wild hemp, or marijuana, on the Kansas plains. Several are Vietnam vets, and all are somehow marked, at odds with their time. They see themselves as inheritors of the mythic West, like buffalo hunters in league with their captain, Frankie Sage. As long as they remain unarmed their crime is counted only a misdemeanor. But a rival gang led by Valentine LaReese is prone to gunplay. The two are fated to clash. Privy to the action is CC Holtz, “King of the county,” who like any king demands tribute. Early on a double murder on the border of two counties calls out both sheriffs. Their investigation and the free-spirited harvest run parallel till all trails converge, leading to a wry, dramatic climax. BANKS OF THE RIVER Jack Marshal, known as “the Lion,” is a prideful sinner and reckless womanizer. When his 15-year-old daughter, Bonny, winds up pregnant by an old running buddy, Jack is outraged. And when the man is found dead, Jack is charged with murder. Alongside the coming trial play the many goings-on in a small Kansas town, summer 1960. There’s Ruthie, Jack's sister and local femme fatale, who does what with whom and when she pleases; the old priest, Father Horabet, who harbors sins of his own; Anna, Jack's wife, who quietly sustains herself and her daughter through the storm of scandal; and Johnny, Jack’s son, who faces howls of scorn pitching in little league baseball. Finally the town gathers for Jack’s trial. Beyond the drama of guilt or innocence plays the question of how men and women grapple for meaning in their wary coexistence. For temptation like the sunrise returns each day, even as we imagine ourselves standing on the banks of the river, we are immersed, carried in a greater current. SKIN FOR SKIN Part mystery and part myth born of fact and rumor left buried in the Kansas dirt. The story opens with a murder as desperate as the voice that stirs from the dust in witness. This voice, or knowing, haunts a young man, Faris Clayton, who will play in events to come. Time and place, 1934, Elim, Kansas. The action involves six gamblers initially robbed and a seventh absent that fateful night who is killed through foolish mischance. And whose older brother vows vengeance. Amid the swirl of death two farm families, the Claytons and the Wales, struggle to survive the drought and depression. Faris knows the gamblers, the victim, and the widow. Guesses the why of things and carries the burden of his knowing. Vera Ellen Wales, or Elle, stands at a greater remove and innocence. Enters the story a girl of 14 and matures into a young woman of 16 when she and Faris finally meet and lace hands. Meanwhile in Elim, guilt and madness play to the final scene.
During the first half of the twentieth century, Marquette grows into the Queen City of the North. Here is the tale of a small town undergoing change as its horses are replaced by streetcars and automobiles, and its pioneers are replaced by new generations who prosper despite two World Wars and the Great Depression. Margaret Dalrymple finds her Scottish prince, though he is neither Scottish nor a prince. Molly Bergmann becomes an inspiration to her grandchildren. Jacob Whitman’s children engage in a family feud. The Queen City’s residents marry, divorce, have children, die, break their hearts, go to war, gossip, blackmail, raise families, move away, and then return to Marquette. And always, always they are in love with the haunting land that is their home.
The Marquette Trilogy comes to a satisfying conclusion as it brings together characters and plots from the earlier novels and culminates with Marquette’s sesquicentennial celebrations in 1999. What happened to Madeleine Henning is finally revealed as secrets from the past shed light upon the future. Marquette’s residents struggle with a difficult local economy, yet remain optimistic for the future. The novel’s main character, John Vandelaare, is descended from all the early Marquette families in Iron Pioneers and The Queen City. While he cherishes his family’s past, he questions if he should remain in his hometown. Then an unexpected event occurs which will change his life forever.
Since his death in 1996, Krzysztof Kieslowski has remained the best-known contemporary Polish filmmaker and one of the most popular and respected European directors, internationally renowned for his ambitious Decalogue and Three Colors trilogy. In this new addition to the Directors'Cuts series, Marek Haltof provides a comprehensive study of Kieslowski's cinema, discussing industrial practices in Poland and stressing that the director did not fit the traditional image of a "great" East-Central European auteur. He draws a fascinating portrait of the stridently independent director's work, noting that Kieslowski was not afraid to express unpopular views in film or in life. Haltof also shows how the director's work remains unique in the context of Polish documentary and narrative cinema.
Thomas Harris created the iconic fictional murderer and sociopath, Hannibal Lecter. This book explores and analyzes the characters, artistry, and cultural impact of Harris's novels—four of which are centered on the terrifying villain of the iconic film, The Silence of the Lambs. Making Murder takes readers deep into the work of Thomas Harris and his iconic creation, Hannibal Lecter—one of modern fiction's most unforgettable characters. A former crime reporter, Harris's exhaustive research techniques have included extensive time with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit studying actual serial killers. Like no other available volume, the book explores the dark heart within Harris's novels—the unflinching look at evil that makes them so much more than just "good reads." Making Murder looks at all five of Harris's novels, starting with the suspenseful terrorist thriller, Black Sunday, then moving through the quartet of books in which Hannibal Lecter gradually moves from malevolent presiding spirit to unsettling, recognizably human protagonist. Author Philip Simpson looks at the critical response each book received and explores the works themselves in terms of story, characters, writing style, allusions and symbols, and themes. An introductory chapter provides insights into the author's life, publishing history, and significant cultural impact.
Have you ever read a suspense novel so good you had to stop and think to yourself, “How did the author come up with this idea? Their characters? Is some of this story real?” For over five years, Mark Rubinstein, physician, psychiatrist, and mystery and thriller writer, had the chance to ask the most well-known authors in the field just these kinds of questions in interviews for the Huffington Post. Collected here are interviews with forty-seven accomplished authors, including Michael Connelly, Ken Follett, Meg Gardiner, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and Don Winslow. These are their personal stories in their own words, much of the material never before published. How do these writers’ life experiences color their art? Find out their thoughts, their inspirations, their candid opinions. Learn more about your favorite authors, how they work and who they truly are.
While some film scores crash through theater speakers to claim their place in memory, others are more unassuming. Either way, a film's score is integral to successful world building. This book lifts the curtain on the elusive yet thrilling art form, examining the birth of the Hollywood film score, its turbulent evolution throughout the decades and the multidimensional challenges to musicians that lie ahead. The history of the film score is illuminated by extraordinary talents (like John Williams, Hans Zimmer and countless others). Beginning with vaudeville and silent cinema, chapters explore the wonders of early pioneers like Max Steiner and Bernard Herrmann, and continue through the careers of other soundtrack titans. Leading Hollywood film composers offer in this book fascinating perspectives on the art of film music composition, its ongoing relevance and its astonishing ability to enhance a filmmaker's vision.
Subject-organised listing of books published in English between 1940 and 1975 which deal with the various aspects of the motion picture. Includes monographs and unpublished doctoral dissertations.
The Dictionary of Midwestern Literature, Volume One, surveys the lives and writings of nearly 400 Midwestern authors and identifies some of the most important criticism of their writings. The Dictionary is based on the belief that the literature of any region simultaneously captures the experience and influences the worldview of its people, reflecting as well as shaping the evolving sense of individual and collective identity, meaning, and values. Volume One presents individual lives and literary orientations and offers a broad survey of the Midwestern experience as expressed by its many diverse peoples over time.Philip A. Greasley's introduction fills in background information and describes the philosophy, focus, methodology, content, and layout of entries, as well as criteria for their inclusion. An extended lead-essay, "The Origins and Development of the Literature of the Midwest," by David D. Anderson, provides a historical, cultural, and literary context in which the lives and writings of individual authors can be considered.This volume is the first of an ambitious three-volume series sponsored by the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature and created by its members. Volume Two will provide similar coverage of non-author entries, such as sites, centers, movements, influences, themes, and genres. Volume Three will be a literary history of the Midwest. One goal of the series is to build understanding of the nature, importance, and influence of Midwestern writers and literature. Another is to provide information on writers from the early years of the Midwestern experience, as well as those now emerging, who are typically absent from existing reference works.
