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. There's more to Scorsese's work than crime and violence. His characters are trying to attain some kind of spiritual peace with society, their family, and themselves, and in the end they try to make a decision they can live with. Hailed as America's greatest living film director, Martin Scorsese is an innovative storyteller at the height of his intellectual and emotional powers. This Pocket Essential examines his life and work.
I was born at a very young age and have grown older ever since. I have passed the time sharing my passions for films, mystery fiction and comics by publishing, editing and writing books and magazines. I spent my teenage years publishing 'Ark: The Comics Magazine' (1980-1990) and writing graphic novels ('Second City', 'Overload', 'Beautiful People'), before graduating to a life of crime.
I co-founded 'Crime Time' magazine (1995-present), and edited 'The Third Degree: Crime Writers In Conversation', as well as writing some mystery short stories. It was during this time that I discovered the fantastic fiction of Gerald Kersh, who I have championed ever since through many articles and short story collections. (He's famous for the novel 'Night and the City', which was turned into a fantastic Film Noir by Jules Dassin in 1950.) One day, I'll even finish Kersh's biography. Promise.
Unemployed and in need of an income, I founded Pocket Essentials in 1999, edited around 50 titles in the series, and wrote eight of them, including 'Martin Scorsese', 'Alfred Hitchcock', 'Film Noir' and 'Noir Fiction'. This brought me to the attention of the illustrious Mr. Benedikt Taschen, who took me under his wing and told me to make film books. Since 2003, I have happily, if not ecstatically, carried out his wishes by editing over 50 film books for TASCHEN, big and small, including the award-winning 'The Ingmar Bergman Archives'. I've even written a couple of them. Yesterday, somebody told me I had the best job in the world, and for the life of me I cannot find anything wrong with that statement.
