Search results for ""author paul""

The first full-length study of the iconic 1960s film The Great Escape and its place in Hollywood and American history.Escaped POW Virgil Hilts (Steve McQueen) on a stolen motorcycle jumps an imposing barbed wire fence—caught on film, the act and its aftermath have become an unforgettable symbol of triumph as well as defeat for 1960s America. Combining production and reception history with close reading, Dreams of Flight offers the first full-length study of The Great Escape, the classic film based on a true story of Allied prisoners who hatched an audacious plan to divert and thwart the Wehrmacht and escape into the nearby countryside. Through breezy prose and pithy analysis, Dana Polan centers The Great Escape within American cultural and intellectual history, drawing a vivid picture of the country in the 1960s. We see a nation grappling with its own military history, a society undergoing significant shifts in its culture and identity, and a film industry in transition from Old Hollywood's big-budget runaway studio films to the slow interior cinema of New Hollywood. Dreams of Flight combines this context with fan anecdotes and a close study of filmic style to bring readers into the film and trace its wide-reaching influence. Polan examines the production history, including prior adaptations in radio and television of celebrated author Paul Brickhill's original nonfiction book about the escape, and he compares the cinematic fiction to the real events of the escape in 1944. Dreams of Flight also traces the afterlife of The Great Escape in the many subsequent movies, TV commercials, and cartoons that reference it, whether reverentially or with humor.

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'Finch has written a blood-soaked historical epic to rank with the best' Anthony Riches, author of Storm of WarThe throne of England is under threat, but one lad’s battle is much closer to home.Storm clouds gathering at England’s shores…Autumn, 1066. Saxon England, a realm at peace for fifty years, unknowingly enjoys its last peaceful harvest. For a Viking horde, led by the dreaded Harald Hardraada, circles off the north-eastern coast, while William of Normandy, a wolf in human guise, waits in the south, greedily sizing up the wealthy kingdom.…will change a young man’s future…Seventeen-year-old Cerdic, as second in line to the earldom of Ripon in northern England, is being trained for a future in the Church. But croziers and catechism do not fire Cerdic’s soul. He longs instead to be a warrior, like his brother Unferth, and ride to battle in defence of his lands.…and unseat his whole worldBut as the invasion fleets sail, Cerdic finds himself caught in a maelstrom that will utterly reshape the life he used to know. A catastrophic war is coming to England, and Cerdic’s wish for battle looks set to come true…Sunday Times bestselling author Paul Finch’s first historical novel is an edge-of-your-seat coming-of-age adventure in early medieval England, perfect for fans of David Gilman and Bernard Cornwell.Praise for Usurper 'Usurper is an action-packed, coming-of-age, adventure set against the upheaval and battles of 1066. Finch gives us Cerdic, a troubled hero thrown into the maelstrom of events outside of his control, and we follow him breathlessly as he deals with brutal Vikings, familial rivalries, unrequited love, invading Normans and more!' Matthew Harffy, author of the Bernicia Chronicles'Usurper propels the reader from the very first page through a dark and desperate age when Britons fought for their survival. Fearsome battles, believable characters, uncommon valour. A relentless page turner' David Gilman, author of the Master of War series'The grim world of Anglo Saxon England is brought evocatively to life by master storyteller Paul Finch as he thrusts the reader deep into the cold and mud and blood of a country teetering on the brink of a devastating war for survival. Usurper is a must-read for any lover of history, capturing all the rich detail of a turbulent time and stitching it through with powerful emotion' James Wilde, author of the Hereward Chronicles'An authentic and vivid depiction of life in England in 1066, and a brutal, blood-soaked thriller that will be loved by fans of Cornwell's Last Kingdom' Alex Gough, author of the Imperial Assassins series'Finch brings 1066 to life in new and vivid ways. Packed with blistering battle scenes and believable characters, this is a superb historical novel' Steven A. McKay, author of the Druid series

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