Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Entertainment & Celebrities

"Plato sucks because the ideal world pales in comparison with the mysterious complexity of the real one." So writes Andrei Codrescu in this kaleidoscope of riffs and rants about the passions and nightmares of a poet at millennium's end. What does the collapse of communism and rise of nationalism in Eastern Europe look like from the perspective of this reporter who experienced it firsthand? How does a ceramicist and child of photographers view the origin myths of pottery and photography?

Would you believe that one man championed the cause of Native Americans with Leonard Peltier, helped migrant farm workers with Cesar Chavez, traveled to Nepal, hiked the Himalayas, explored Africa and founded The Paris Review? It's true, and it's the life of Peter Matthiessen. Listen to entrancing travel tales and real life anecdotes from this author of At Play in the Fields of the Lord and the National Book Award-winning The Snow Leopard.

The attraction of opera is in its scale, in the fact that it is larger than real life in actions and emotions, more magnificent in sound and in sight. And in the world of opera, no figure in our time loomed larger than the late Luciano Pavarotti. Especially in his triumphant collaborations with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, he captured the imagination of an audience breadth and depth is remarkable even in the grand context of classical opera.

Join Rick Reynolds as he guides you through the foibles, fumbles and pratfalls of his own life beginning with his bizarre childhood. From the drowning of his father at a family picnic, to a bank-robbing stepfather, to his mother's 3 marriages and innumerable affairs, Reynolds portrays a striking picture of the lengths people will go for love and the human connection.

Few people had a better perspective on comedy and comedians than the master of it all, Steve Allen. In Funny People, Allen conveys insightful and personal observations—by anecdote and example—of some of the 20th century' s greatest comic performers: Jack Benny, George Burns, Milton Berle, and Jimmy Durante. Laugh along with Steve as he offers witty and perceptive looks at comedy legends whose work has stood the test of time.

The American guy is not to be confused with a husband, father, hunk, or intellectual, says guy expert Dave Barry. Published just in time (the American guy faces extinction due to feminism, the men's movement, and stricter sanitation laws), this guide gives women helpful advice for understanding Him (or It) and offers men useful tips on remembering the names of their children and other dilemmas of life.

This collection of letters conveys timeless tales of love and passion written by some of the most interesting male figures in history, including revolutionary thinkers, visionary painters, and enlightened writers. Even dark minds like Edgar Allan Poe experience love, and each letter reveals personal desires, intimate details, and intense emotions.

Lana Turner was the last of the great screen goddesses. A legendary blonde bombshell, Turner led a fairy-tale life that turned into a nightmare following the bizarre murder of her gangster lover, Johnny Stompanato, in 1958. This detailed, honest, heartwarming account reveals the real woman behind the Hollywood facade, as well as a tender friendship that endured both heaven and hell for 25 years.