Customer Reviews

Academy Awards Handbook:1999

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though some have said that those with access to the internet should avoid this book, I must disagree. As we don't all walk around or lie in bed wired to our computers, this is a great family-room or bathroom book for occasional reference. And the information is well presented (though I'd like to see listings of all nominees, even in the lesser categories) with an index, which is far more than can be said for "the Envelope Please." Between the two, this one is the way to go.

I've found two books about the Academy Awards which contain lots of interesting information. The "Academy Awards Handbook" both through its year-by-year arrangement and its extensive index allows me to quickly find the specific information I'm looking for. The other book "The Envelope, Please," has lots of delightful information but the table of contents listing is rather cutesy (What exactly would you expect to find under "Missed Opportunities" or "First and Foremost"?) and there's NO index; it has to be read as a novel and has essentially no usefulness as a reference work!

Data is data. The scant anecdotal information in this book is not bad - But not enough. The fact that you're reading this on Amazon shows that you already have access to most of the information in this book, and with the internet movie database in a far more user-friendly form. Other books on Oscar (for the same price I strongly recommend the excellent "..AND THE ENVELOPE PLEASE" by A.W. Jones.) give all the same info plus a heck of a lot more with added style, humor, and passion. There's better books out there than this one.

This book would be ideal as an Oscar handbook if it were not plagued by small innaccuracies. But the anecdotes are interesting, though scant, and the Oscar pool predictions section does come in handy.