Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories

Book Description

Chuck Palahniuk’s world has always been, well, different from yours and mine. In his first collection of nonfiction, Chuck Palahniuk brings us into this world, and gives us a glimpse of what inspires his fiction.

At the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival in Missoula, Montana, average people perform public sex acts on an outdoor stage. In a mansion once occupied by The Rolling Stones, Marilyn Manson reads his own Tarot cards and talks sweetly to his beautiful actress girlfriend. Across the country, men build their own full-size castles and rocketships that will send them into space. Palahniuk himself experiments with steroids, works on an assembly line by day and as a hospice volunteer by night, and experiences the brutal murder of his father by a white supremacist. With this new direction, Chuck Palahniuk has proven he can do anything.

Customer Reviews:

Some stories are slow, but overall worth it........2007-09-09

Many other reviewers have noted that some of the stories in this book are slow and dry. The drawn out descriptions of the castle builders immediately comes to mind, as does the personal story of Juliette Lewis. But overall this is a worthwhile look into the mind and life of one of the best authors of our time. I feel like I know Chuck Palahniuk on a more personal level now, and that's what I was hoping for. I find him a fascinating man, someone I would love to sit down for coffee with. With that desire in mind, I am very happy I waded through this book.

chuck feeling lazy.......2007-08-03

this is by far the worst book he has written, and i'm actually glad that he apologized for its lack of creativity and thrown-togetherness in the actual book.

Chuck as we haven't seen him.......2007-07-27

The title of this book is very accurate. a lot of it seems as though it must be fictional.
I am an avid reader of all of Palahniuk's novels, so not only was the subject matter a bit different, but the format (short story) was also a change - he pulls it off effortlessly, though.

A good book.......2007-05-15

A composite of real world odditities, experiences and interviews. Different than his novels, but interesting.

boring and lazy.......2007-04-26

I became a fan of Palahniuk when I read, Choke, one of the funniest books I've ever come across. Then reading "Survivor" furthered my affection for this author, however after reading the synopsis' of most of his other works I just couldn't find myself willing or interested enough to pick up said other works.
Stranger than Fiction did spark my interested and I was dupped into reading the majority of this trash, oddly enough, none of which is stranger than fiction.

Average customer rating:

Good grief!
Israel a super evil?
The best analysis of 9-11
Strange But True

Stranger Than Fiction
Albert D. Pastore, Ph.D
Manufacturer: Dandelion Books, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1893302474
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Product Description

The true story behind 9-11, delivered by a meticulous researcher. . . "Every news story about 9-11 that is contained in this book is true and easily verifiable," states author, Dr. Albert D. Pastore [a penname]. "My investigation represents 12 months of careful study, painstaking research, detailed analysis, source verification and logical deduction.

Customer Reviews:

Good grief!.......2007-03-21

This book blames Israel for 9/11. Here's a quote from the bookstore page of Dandelion Books.

Twelve months of careful study, painstaking research, source verification leading to "the only logical conclusion that the 9-11 attacks and numerous other foiled terror plots, were planned, orchestrated, financed, carried out, and covered up by the forces of international Zionism."

Uh huh. Next.

This is utter madness, well spiced by Satanic bigotry. Don't waste your money.

Israel a super evil?.......2006-08-14

I was really shocked when I read the book. I knew the whole thing did not make sense... I thought the US alone was behind this coup, but after reading the essay, I just realised America is a victim, like Palestine, Lebanon, Irak and soon to be Iran.

The best analysis of 9-11.......2006-05-26

Like so many I have studied the motives for 9-11 for almost 5 years now. This book comes closest to the real culprits, although other collaborating parties are omitted. Like Larouche says, you have also an Anglo - American component (see British Israelism) besides Zionism (and the inevitable NWO). The insane (international money maffia) are really running the asylum !

Strange But True.......2004-04-24

Greetings from a researcher in Toronto, Canada.
Pastore's book should be atop everyone's Bible. From one Net hog to another, I must bow to the master. I came to exactly the same conclusions. But he's managed to ferret out some amazing and arcane aspects of certain 9-11 data that even I'd missed. I don't say this lightly. I have 23 books on the subject in addition to all of the magazines that were published on the event, and a stack of 9-11 files a foot thick. I've spent many days and nights poring over them.
Mr. Pastore, I certainly wish for each of your countrymen to purchase a copy of your book and to shout its truths from the rooftops.

Book Description

From the bestselling author of Fight Club and Diary, a collection of essays and journalistic pieces that prove that real life has imagination beaten cold in the strangeness and wonder departments

Chuck Palahniuk’s world has always been, well, different from yours and mine. The pieces that comprise Stranger Than Fiction, his first nonfiction collection, prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drive train installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world (and mangled ears) of college wrestlers; the underground world of iron-pumping anabolic steroid gobblers; the immensely upsetting circumstances of his father’s murder and the trial of his killer—each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of our most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing stories, brought to you by the slightly warped mind of Chuck Palahniuk .......2006-10-30

This is a collection of non-fictional short stories about average people doing strange things. I can hear you whispering in my ear, "what kind of strange things"? Well, let me tell you that first, you need a breath mint and secondly you spit a little when you whisper. Despite the wet ear and lingering smell of spinach, I'm talking about the kind of odd things that friends tell you about over and over again after a few beers or half a bottle of wine because it is there best and possibly only story worth telling that they have.

These short stories are about modern men who build castles in Oregon and Idaho, stories about drunken rednecks crashing two story wheat threshers into each other in a demolition derby in Lind Washington, stories about public nudity and sex in Bozeman Montana, stories about working in a hospice and being there when people die, stories about shrunken testicles and the pump of steroids, stories about working on an assembly line and trying to be an author, stories that are essentially as American as apple pie but without the sugar and ice cream.

So, if you're interested in a few intriguing stories, brought to you by the slightly warped mind of Chuck Palahniuk author of "Fight Club", take a look at "Stranger Than Fiction".

A medley of stories, some hit the mark better than the rest.......2005-10-01

When Palahniuk goes on book tours, he often tells a smattering of true-life stories that he heard from his fans, all items that are indeed stranger than fiction. From a man who writes fiction that is often beyond belief, it is interesting to see the true-life tales that pass the Palahniuk strangeness test.

The book starts out with a bang, an opening chapter that provides the reader a voyeuristic field trip into a sex festival. From there, however, Palahniuk doesn't always maintain the momentum. Sometimes it appears as if he's just a bored reporter scribbling down facts, not trying to weave a compelling tale. Several of the stories didn't keep my interest at all, but there is enough good material in here to make the book a worthwhile read.

Palahniuk fans should give it a shot, but don't expect to be blown away.

Another unique piece of work .......2005-07-10

Plot: N/A
Writing Excellent
Pace: Fast
It's a bunch of short stories about real people and events in his life. Some are sad, some are funny, and some are bizarre. The best stories are about the author, his family, and his two weight lifting buddies. The slowest and longest are the combine derby and castle building. Cut those two stories out and the book would be even better. It's worth reading if you want a change of pace from your typical fiction. Grab a little non-fiction that won't bore you.

Fascinating.......2005-05-24

I had never read Palahniuk and "Fight Club" definitely isn't my thing. Yet I was lured by true anecdotes--who can resist a really strange story? This collection introduced me to a an intriguing man and brilliant writer.

The best thing about this collection is that it takes the reader into odd situations and intimate settings that he/she would probably never experience otherwise. Palahniuk takes us with him as he witnesses odd things such as The Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival, hangs out with Marilyn Manson, and reveals his "life as a dog." The book also dives into the personal world of Palahniuk--his past, friendships, thought processes, and life before, during, and after the movie "Fight Club." If you enjoyed the movie or any of other Palahniuk's works, "Stranger Than Fiction" is nearly essential to getting to know the man behind it all. He is apparently a curious person with a keen sociological and psychological insight...and he has a distinct sense of humor!

I recommend this book to every writer...actual or aspiring. A running theme in these stories is the practice of writing. How stories come about, take shape, and draw on other stories. It expresses the connection between writing and life, life and fiction, and how these play off eachother. If you write, you will be enthralled by the introduction to the collection alone...and it only gets better from there.

As others have said in their reviews, this collection does contain a few duds. But it's the many fabulous pieces that make your time more than worthwhile. I learned alot of very interesting things and this book contains stories for varied interests. This book made me gasp, smirk, nearly cry, and laugh out loud. The stories stay with you. I am telling everyone about this book: you owe it to yourself to atleast thumb through it.

Better Than I Expected!.......2005-05-23

These stories reveal a more personal side of Palahniuk that you may not have even realized was there. They're hopeful, inspirational, and as always, completely outrageous. These are not the typical quasi-horror stories Chuck has written in the past. But they are excellent stories, and I applaud Chuck for trying something new. I think he did an amazing job with it, and if you like Palahniuk at all, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Along with The Losers' Club (Complete Restored Edition) by Richard Perez, Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories is my favorite Amazon purchase so far this year!

Average customer rating:

Nice collection of anomalies

Stranger Than Science
Edwards F
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0553080431

Customer Reviews:

Nice collection of anomalies.......2004-12-10

Stranger than Science is a nice little collection of anomalies. In more than 70 very short chapters Edwards mentions a huge number of unexplained phenomena from unexplained archaeological evidence to dreams that inspired inventors in their sleep.

This is probably the only pseudo science I read as a child that is worth rereading now. Edwards has a writing style that is conversational and easy to read. Much of what he is saying is just thrown out there, but it is easy to sort out the rumors from the more backed up assertions. Sometimes he simply reminds us of oddities, like the inspirational dreams, that don't shake the world view but are good stories to tell. By the way there is no bibliography or index.

This is worth a read if you are interested in unexplained phenomena. It is sort of an organized conversational laundry list of the weird.

Average customer rating:

The Great Ace Star K-117

Stranger Than Science (Ace Star, K-117)

Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0441111173

Customer Reviews:

The Great Ace Star K-117.......2006-10-20

There isn't much reviewing done here for this particular edition of this particular book....all of the reviewing of the substance of "Stranger Than Science" (my own included) is to be found in Amazon's first listing of the book. While that is perfectly understandable (easiest to go to the first listing in the column to write your review), I felt compelled to scroll down a bit to the listing for this edition and make a few extra comments. Why? Because while "Stranger Than Science" is still "Stranger Than Science" in whatever edition you read it ,THIS is the one that is truly special. THIS is Ace Star edition number K-117 , published in 1960, and THIS edition is THE one that kicked off the whole "unexplained mysteries" fandom of the sixties onward. In large part, everyone from Brad Steiger and John Keel to Loren Coleman OWES
Frank Edwards and this book for opening the doors to careers and publishing successes to them. This book has, therefore, in "crypto" and "para" circles, ENORMOUS historical significance...even with all its flaws and inaccuracies. And we are talking specifically THIS version of it, the ORIGINAL Ace Star number K-117 . This is like a first edition of Action Comics or Detective Comics to a comics collector, rather than a "commemorative reprint". So, to get to the point, if you just want to read the narrative substance of "Stranger Than Science", feel free to pick up ANY of the above reprint editions...and ENJOY...but if you want to get a rush off owning "The Real Deal", then K-117 is the one you want (remember, the 1959 Hardcover was not the print run that started the "unexplained enigmas" ball rolling...it was the 1960 PAPERBACK edition...THIS edition).

Recommended.

Average customer rating:

The Book That Started It All
For pure fascination value, you can't beat this
Greatest 20th century American story-teller
Nice collection of anomalies
Stranger Than Science

Stranger Than Science
Frank Edwards
Manufacturer: Lyle Stuart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0806508507

Customer Reviews:

The Book That Started It All.......2006-10-19

When I read reviews of what an interesting, breezily-written little book this is, I have to shake my head a little bit and chuckle to myself. Such an evaluation falls somewhat short with this particular book. While Charles Fort produced several volumes of "unusualness" before this, and while a few spiritualist-based books by authors like R. DeWitt Miller, Nandor Fodor, and others were "out there" to be found, these books were not at all very "high profile" on the general reader's "radar" at the end of the 50s, beginning of the 60s. Sci-Fi and horror novels were, and westerns, and "hard-boiled" private eye and superlawyer stuff (Mike Hammer & Perry Mason), but...."(Alledgedly) True Weird"?...unh unh. Barely a blip on the "scope".

And then came "Stranger Than Science". It's appearance in hardback made only a modest ripple of waves, but when it came out in paperback from Ace Books (and the cover photo shown above IS the original paperback edition cover) the effect was like Boulder Dam breaking. Copies almost "flew" off the bookracks. Why? Because KIDS discovered it and found it in an a format that they could AFFORD (It could be squeezed in between Sergeant Rock, Batman, the Justice League, the Fantastic Four, Tom Swift, Jr., the Hardy Boys, and everything else "currently cool").

The timing was right on the money, too. The post-war baby boomers were hitting 12, 13, 14 years of age at the time and their interests were focussed on "neat stuff" (as Beaver Cleaver might tell you); UFOs, monster movies, Ray Harryhausen stop-motion flicks, "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine ,"Zacherly" and numerous otherlate-night "Shock Theatre' hosts, and any and all things that made you shivver and shake. Readers Digest was putting out stories about "The Mysterious Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas" and "The Elusive Loch Ness Monster", and youngsters were lapping the stuff up. So "Stranger Than Science" hits the mass market paperback shelves at just the right time and with just the right material to grab the attention of a perfect ready-made readership that almost squealed with glee at its appearance.

Edward's book became a huge hit and a BIG bestseller for Ace (who knew a good thing when they had one and who started cranking out more and more "strange but true" books as fast as they could set type on them...and other publishers hopped on the bandwagon right behind them).

Following this trail in the early sixties and on into the seventies came a slew of new author names that blazed through the media: John Keel, Brad Steiger, Ivan Sanderson, Warren Smith, Gray Baker,Erich von Daniken, Otto Binder, Andrew Tomas, and a host of others. And there were kids then that this book "turned on" to strange happenings who made the study of such things lifelong avocations (the Coleman Brothers, Loren and Jerry, spring to mind as such). Most of the gray-haired cryptozoologists and paranormalists of today got fired up for these things originally because of this book. And plenty of wet-behind-the-ears "new generation" aficionadoes of the weird and unexplained owe their own interest base to this man and this book...though they are largely (and typically) clueless about it.

This reviewer here was one of those that came on the "ground floor" of all this true-weirdness stuff. I was thirteen years old at the time and a voracious reader (though mostly of comic books and such fare as "Tom Swift And His Ultrasonic Cycloplane"). I noticed this little softcover on the book rack at the neighborhood drugstore and bought it to take home and read.

And read it I did. Cover to cover. In one Saturday afternoon out on our house's screened-in porch. And I did it mostly open-mouthed, slack-jawed, and half bug-eyed. For instance, one thing I read about was a place Frank Edwards called "The Point of No Return"...located off the southeast coast of the U.S., particularly in the area of the Bahamas...where ships and planes had disappeared without trace for years...and where an entire flight of Navy Avenger torpedo bombers vanished completely in 1945, along with a PBY Flying Boat sent out to search for them (it would be several YEARS yet before Vincent Gaddis would give this place a name..."The Bermuda Triangle"...and OVER A DECADE AND A HALF before Charles Berlitz and others would give it the kind of international notoriety it eventually achieved). A couple of newspaper articles had mentioned these disappearances before, and a write-up in Fate magazine, but...to my knowledge..."Stranger Than Science" was the first BOOK ever to delve into the subject (Yes, it pre-dates "Invisible Horizons").

Other chapters hit on the Tunguska event in Siberia (first I'd ever heard of it), sea serpents, Loch Ness, the disappearance of Tennessee farmer David Lang, an Eskimo village where the RCMP found all the humans vanished, and the scariest thing I'd ever encountered ; "The Invisible Fangs", a story about a Manila girl being attacked and bitten repeatedly by an "invisible entity" that no one could protect her from.

Needless to say, such accounts as these had THIS young'un hyped up like nobody's business! And it can truthfully said that this is one of the most influential books in my life. It fired my imagination, it fired my curiousity, and it fired my desire to go out there and see what the heck was going on in the world.

Is the influence still there? You betcha. I still research such subjects, I have been an off-and-on ghost hunting dilletante for years (and had some MARVELOUS "encounters" down in Savannah, Georgia), and I once got to see a UFO make a monkey out of a jet fighter pilot . No bigfoot yet, no lake monsters, and no Wisconsin werewolves...but I'm still ready to go look. And, ultimately, all because of this book.

Now "Stranger Than Science" is NOT debunk-proof. Over the years, numerous stories that it relates have not held up to investigative scrutiny. "Farmer David Lang" never disappeared in his field because he never existed to begin with. He was something "filched" and "embroidered upon" out of an old Ambrose Bierce short story. And the Eskimo village that befuddled the Mounties? It never did. They weren't any missing Eskimos to find, because no such village existed except in a short horror story entitled "The Wendigo". No sea captain ever pickled a sea serpent's head, either. And in other instances things "kinda-sorta" happened the way Edwards says they did, but there is wiggle room in all that "kinda-sorta" to suggest possible rational explanations (or less "boogery" interpretations) for some of his shivver stories.

There ARE some accounts here that DO stand the test of time and investigation, and this most be acknowledged too. So what all stands up and what all doesn't? Well, heck, I'm not gonna TELL you. To exercise your mind and satisfy your intellectual curiosity, you need to get out there and "dig" for it yourself. That makes everything you learn WORTH more to you than if it is all handed to you on a platter.

Besides, the journey as half the fun.

Just remember, though, before you "diss" this book too much, just remember that it was out blazing the trail in paranormal and cryptozoological studies and research WAY BACK WHEN , and , for all its found-faults, it still has the power to inspire enthusiasm for seeking the truths about the "unknown" and the "unexplained".

For pure fascination value, you can't beat this.......2006-06-09

This book, and its sequels, contain some of the most amazing stuff. People who simply vanish...footprints made in the night by an unknown creature that go up and over houses and into the sea...engines that run on nothing...and the list goes on. What person, especially those under the age of twelve, wouldn't be fascinated by this? Of course, it was written half a century or so ago; later research and a more skeptical eye will find alternate explanations for most of this, but if you can read this book with the eye of a twelve-year old, then the possibilities are endless! The universe is a much richer place, I am convinced, for people that allow themselves to feel even just a glimmer of excitement at the thought that people can actually be teleported, or that Atlantis existed, or that people can just burst into consuming flame, or UFOs, or whatever. Trust me...if you have never read this you have no idea of the scope of the wierdities in this book. Find a copy, curl up in a chair, and prepare to have the word, "WOW!" pop into your mind more than once.

Greatest 20th century American story-teller.......2005-09-12

Frank R. Edwards picked up where Charles Fort died in passing along the stories of the strangest events in history.

Edwards was a masterful writer. His ability with words and storytelling gave great power to what he was reporting, and that is one of the highest values.

He was host, and these were his programs on America's first full-time radio show on KDKA out of Pittsburgh around 1930-50.

He is kind of a prophet without honor. Of course, that is the definition of a prophet -- forgotten in his own times. Maybe resurrected later, if the culture gains in judgment.

Nice collection of anomalies.......2004-12-10

Stranger Than Science.......2004-10-13

Certainly not top shelf but nonetheless great reading. as a kid I actually wore out two copies from constant handling, reading and loaning the books to friends who were as impressed and enthralled as I was by the weird stories. My kids will be all over this book and regard it with as much delight and enthusiasm as I did as a kid. That is, they will when I'm finished reading it, again!

Average customer rating:

Stranger Than Science is Still Stranger Than Most
The starting point to greater stories

Stranger than Science

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000EKEDL8

Customer Reviews:

Stranger Than Science is Still Stranger Than Most.......2007-03-13

I read this book over 35 years ago, and it scared the daylights out of me (I recently picked up another copy, and it still does the trick). This is a great book to be read by candlelight on a dark and stormy night. What was that noise!?! Could it be the Flatwoods Monster? Or maybe the Jersey Devil? Strange disappearances and appearances, unusual coincidences, UFOs, invisible attackers, it's all here. Do you dare read it?

The starting point to greater stories.......2006-08-14

Though Irving Wallace (author of "The People's Almanac",etc) and his researchers were unable to substantiate a lot of Edward's "fantastic yet factual" stories, a good tale is a good tale and Frank Edwards will always have a place beyond the twilight zone. And I'd like to think that Wallace and his crew just didn't have the time to dig hard enough when it came to researching Edwards' stories.
A collection of "Stranger than Science" stories was the perfect reading material to sneak into church as a "youth" and peruse as the preacher told us all how God found us unworthy for heaven and how we were all doomed for hell. At least in Edwards' books, mysterious things happened to people, not because of God, but for no reason at all. Which was even scarier. And make you turn to God and pray harder or ponder life in another way.
Frank Edwards' books are classics. So when is Irving Wallace going to be recognized as the father of the culture that now exists?

Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories: Unabridged Selections

Average customer rating:

Stranger than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk
"SELECTIONS from"

Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories: Unabridged Selections

Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739312383
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Book Description

Chuck Palahniuk's world has always been, well, different from yours and mine. The pieces that comprise Stranger than Fiction, his first nonfiction collection, prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Included are encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big-budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drivetrain installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world (and mangled ears) of college wrestlers; the underground world of iron-pumping anabolic-steroid gobblers; the immensely upsetting circumstances of his father's murder and the trial of his killer—each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of our most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.

Customer Reviews:

Stranger than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk.......2007-03-08

This is, in fact, one of the strangest books I have ever read -- also one of the funniest and most endearing. I thought about it for weeks and then sent it to several friends.

"SELECTIONS from" .......2005-08-10

yeah... i guess i need to be better at reading the details. this audio CD is NOT the entire book. chuck is my current favorite contemporary writer... bar none.

i have all of his books... and have read several of them several times. this was the first time i have made an audio CD purchase of a Palaniuk book. i was soon to be staring at a ten hour drive through boring territory and figured this would be the coolest audio book i had ever experienced. as a wrestling coach, i was particularly wanting to hear the story about amateur wrestling/wrestlers.

and that is my main beef with the audio book. it is SELECTIONS from the book. the story i was anticipating was not in the audio CD at all... period. when it came to the end i was pretty disappointed. i never did go back to check which of the others didn't appear in the audio book.

i also knew this was NOT a work of fiction in the chuckstyle i am so accustomed to. that is cook. i liked it. the stories are good and the format is fresh and interesting.

bottom line... don't buy the audio CD if you want every last story. therefore, as an audio CD... i had to give this a *3*. if this were a review of the complete book, i am sure it would be a *4* at least. (i would rate his others a *5* in case that helps you) i also ordered Haunted at the same time (old school paper style, btw) and can't wait to get into it.

Siren Song: A Story Stranger Than Fiction

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Siren Song: A Story Stranger Than Fiction
Gordon Honeycombe
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0091748550
Release Date: 1992-10-27

Book Description

In a dockyard town David, a young sailor, met a friendly young man. They corresponded and the man introduced David to his sister, a model. The two wrote and from this developed one of the strangest love stories ever recorded - and a vicious murder case, ending in the Old Bailey.

Stranger Than Fiction: Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Errol Morris, and the New Documentary Filmmakers

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Stranger Than Fiction: Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Errol Morris, and the New Documentary Filmmakers
Emanuel Levy
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 082641768X

Book Description

The success of American documentaries over the recent past has prompted social critics and film commentators to herald the renaissance of a vibrantly innovative nonfiction cinema. When a political documentary like Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11 grosses a staggering $120 million domestically, playing almost as well in European and other markets outside North America, you know that the documentary has arrived.

What is the story behind this phenomenon?

Acclaimed interpreter of the international social impact of the Academy Awards (And the Winner Is...., Oscar Fever, and All about Oscar--all published by Continuum), biographer Emanuel Levy is now the first to tell this story, profile the filmmakers, and interpret the impact of these films on our lives.

The past decade alone has seen Roger and Me, Paris Is Burning, Hoop Dreams, Bowling for Columbine, Crumb, and Inconvenient Truth.

Once relegated to public-broadcasting stations, cable channels, and regional independent-film festivals, the nonfiction genre of the documentary is increasingly viewed as popular entertainment worthy of multiplexes, shown at full-admission prices. One measure of the new cache is the willingness of both established and new directors to spend long, hard years on their work. A growing number of Hollywood's key players, such as Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Oliver Stone, and James Cameron, all better known for the features, have now contributed to the genre with personal, often idiosyncratic docus that have further elevated the art form.

The book chronicles the careers and works of all those in the vanguard of a movement that shows no signs of slowing down. Michael Moore, Barbara Kopple, Errol Morris, Michael Apted, James Klein, Julia Reichert, Fred Marx, Steve James, Peter Gilbert, Al Gore, and many others are featured in this groundbreaking study, which also includes valuable information on Oscar-winning documentaries as well as the most-commerical documentaries of all time.

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