The Reel Stuff

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The stories that launched money-making blockbusters— “almost any of the stories is worth the price of the whole volume.”

The Reel Stuff collects thirteen memorable—and in some cases award-winning—tales from legendary names in science fiction, fantasy, and horror that inspired some of Hollywood’s greatest successes on the silver screen, or found rabid followings as cult classics.

Features the stories that inspired:

Minority Report • Total Recall • The Thing • Johnny Mnemonic • Re-animator • Candyman • Millennium • Enemy Mine • Mimic • Screamers • Nightflyers • Amanda and the Alien • The Outer Limits: Sandkings

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Editor Brian Thomsen admits that film was his entrée into the world of science fiction. After watching classics such as Fantastic Voyage and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, he discovered that many of the most dramatic presentations were based on written stories. So he sought out the authors, read their works, and became enthralled by the golden word as well as the silver screen. Years later he decided to compile an anthology of stories that were translated to film, and the result is The Reel Stuff. The book contains 12 works by writers such as Philip K. Dick and John Varley; some writers are well known and others are not as readily recognizable. Included in the anthology are Dick's "Second Variety" and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," which turned up on screen as Screamers and Total Recall, respectively. Also included, but less well known, is Robert Silverberg's "Amanda and the Alien," which was turned into a made-for-cable movie of the same name. There's even an H.P. Lovecraft story here, "Herbert West: Reanimator," which Hollywood made into Re-Animator, a campy SF horror classic. --Craig E. Engler

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Oval Office Occult: True Stories of White House Weirdness

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An entertaining and informative look at our paranormal presidencies." --Bill Fawcett, author of Oval Office Oddities

The Discovery Channel's A Haunting meets the History Channel's The Presidents inside this collection of strange-but-true tales of White House weirdness.

Brian M. Thomsen offers a series of nonpartisan accounts of spirits, specters, and supernatural beliefs by and about those who have inhabited the White House. Readers will learn which U.S. presidents have claimed to encounter UFOs, and which have been connected to ghosts, as well as which of our nation's leaders have consulted with fortune-tellers or otherwise been associated with other aspects of the occult.

Famous subjects include Warren G. Harding and the curse of the Hope Diamond, the uncanny similarities between the lives and deaths of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, George Washington's visions, Ronald and Nancy Reagan's reliance on psychics, the haunted homes of Dolly Madison and Rosalyn Carter, Jimmy Carter's UFO sighting, Hillary Clinton's experience with channeling, the mysterious curse of Tecumseh, the secret societies of presidents, and much more.

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The Dream That Will Not Die: Inspiring Words of John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy

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The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked

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ho was Mario Puzo's model for the Don Corleone character in The Godfather? Was it Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno? The infamous Salvatore Maranzano? No . . . it was Puzo's mother! Senator Joseph McCarthy was responsible for the infamous "Hollywood Blacklist," right? Well, actually . . . no, he had nothing to do with it.

Perfect for the cocktail party pundit or trivia buff, the quirky tidbits in The Awful Truths turn history, culture, sports, and entertainment upside down. The book examines some of our culture's oldest, most popular myths, and tells the fascinating, hilarious, and shocking stories behind what really happened, accompanied by funny illustrations that bring the players to life. Each truth is supported with ironclad evidence that skillfully explains how and where our misconceptions originated. Sometimes the truth hurts—but with The Awful Truths, it doesn't have to.

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Furry Fantastic

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Beyond Shock and Awe: Warfare in the 21st Century

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FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK-A founding Delta Force member's anthology on the future of war.

Media commentator Eric L. Haney-one of twelve founding Delta Force members and author of Inside Delta Force-along with other outstanding military analysts and award-nominated editor Brian M. Thomsen, examines our evolving military in the face of changing times, technology, and adversaries. From possible invasions of Syria or Iran-or a major military stand-down with North Korea-Beyond Shock and Awe is a provocative vision of America's military of the future. Included are articles by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade, Jr., who first used the term "shock and awe"; Professor William Forstchen on how precision guided weaponry will eliminate "problem" individuals before war can begin; Eugene Sullivan on the legality of preemptive attacks; William Terdoslavich on how America's swift victory in Iraq turned into a bloody stalemate; John Helfers on how cultural knowledge helps win wars and build alliances; and Eric Haney on gaining Rapid Dominance of adversaries through shock and awe.

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