Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. An informed history of the company that put British horror on the map with such controversial thrillers as The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, this book takes an in-depth look at every film, from the cult favorites to the underrated gems. With in-depth profiles of the creative talent behind the Hammer style, plus a complete Hammer filmography and checklist of the best Hammer websites, this book is the ideal starting point for anyone interested in Hammer or the horror genre.
John McCarty is a full time author. His book Bullets Over Hollywood: The American Gangster Picture from the Silents to "The Sopranos" (Da Capo Press, 2004), was produced as a major documentary by Hugh M. Hefner's Alta Loma Entertainment, for the Starz/Encore cable network; it aired in 2005 and 2006 and has been released on DVD by Image-Entertainment.
Additionally, he is the co-producer, co-writer, and co-director of The Fearmakers: Masters of Screen Suspense and Terror, a 10-episode documentary series of profiles of some of the world's most influential makers of classic suspense and terror films, among them Tod Browning, Jack Arnold, Terence Fisher, Roman Polanski, Roger Corman, and Tobe Hooper. The series is based on his 1994 book of the same title published by St. Martin's Press. It was released on DVD by Elite Entertainment, Inc. in May 2007.
The author of more than 20 non-fiction books of his own on film and entertainment subjects, John has appeared in conjunction with his work on such national media programs as the Sundance Film Festival's online "Film Talks," Fox News Saturday, CNN.fn's mid-day news, A&E's Biography, the Bravo network series Backspin, the ICONS Radio Hour hosted by Stephen Bogart (son of screen icon Humphrey Bogart), Neal Conan's "Talk of the Town" on National Public Radio, the Wall St. Journal, and many other major market periodicals and media outlets.
John has also has collaborated on many high-profile books with leading experts in their fields, among them: Julie Morgenstern on her New York Times best-selling Organizing From the Inside Out, and IRA expert Ed Slott on his top-selling The Retirement Savings Time Bomb...And How to Defuse It (Viking, 2003), (1998) - both of them Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com "Hot 100" sellers.
Born in Albany, New York in 1944, John attended Boston University, where he graduated with a degree in communications (broadcasting & film) in 1966. A former Peace Corps volunteer, he later wrote several un-produced scripts for the hit TV series Family Affair and Death Valley Days during a sojourn in Hollywood (1968-1970). He then worked in broadcasting and as a copywriter for General Electric Company. He published his first book in 1978 and became a full-time author in 1983. Some of his other books about the world of movies include: Hammer Films (2002), The Films of Mel Gibson (1998); Thrillers (1992); The Modern Horror Film (1990); The Complete Films of John Huston (1992), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985). He has also been adjunct professor of cinema in the Department of Theatre at the University at Albany.
