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The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History Revised and Updated [Paperback]

Gail Kinn (Author), Jim Piazza (Author)

(11 customer reviews) |

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Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008 | Series: Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History

THE definitive guide to the Academy Awards, from the very first ceremony to this year's 80th anniversary spectacular, includes EVERY nominee and winner in EVERY category—and has been fully updated to include the most recent winners and losers, unforgettable photographs, and highlights.

Written by film experts who are sought out every year for their insider knowledge of movies and Hollywood, this book is both a comprehensive reference and a detailed history of the Academy Awards, complete with each year's facts, highlights, and controversies—all told with authority and attitude.

Packed with more than 500 photographs from the Oscar ceremonies and red carpet as well as the movies themselves, it outdoes any other book on the market in both information and illustrations. And compared to boring "official" books with less reportage and much less color, this "unauthorized" book delivers what fans want most: ALL the facts, enhanced by juicy commentary and pictures galore.

Now in its fourth edition, it’s the most popular, comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, and enjoyable Oscar book out there.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } THE definitive guide to the Academy Awards, from the very first ceremony to this year's 80th anniversary spectacular, includes EVERY nominee and winner in EVERY category—and has been fully updated to include the most recent winners and losers, unforgettable photographs, and highlights.

Written by film experts who are sought out every year for their insider knowledge of movies and Hollywood, this book is both a comprehensive reference and a detailed history of the Academy Awards, complete with each year's facts, highlights, and controversies—all told with authority and attitude.

Packed with more than 500 photographs from the Oscar ceremonies and red carpet as well as the movies themselves, it outdoes any other book on the market in both information and illustrations. And compared to boring "official" books with less reportage and much less color, this "unauthorized" book delivers what fans want most: ALL the facts, enhanced by juicy commentary and pictures galore.

Now in its fourth edition, it’s the most popular, comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, and enjoyable Oscar book out there.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You are invited to share eighty years of stars and statues, directors and presenters, all the winners and losers, and all the glamour and gossip that is Oscar. From the very first awards spectacular to the most recent, star-studded ceremony, this is the complete, unofficial history. Get the full story and all the facts: memorable images, behind-the-scenes and on-camera anecdotes, and unabridged lists by year and category of every nominee and every winner that has ever heard his or her name called on the brightest night in Hollywood.

About the Author

Gail Kinn has conceived and edited a wide range of film books including Screwball: The Great Romantic Comedies, Hollywood at Home: The Photographs of Sid Avery, and The Scorsese Picture. She is the coauthor of The Academy Awards.

Jim Piazza is an essayist, screenwriter, and playwright whose personal essays and writings about the media have appeared in The Village Voice and Out Magazine. He has been a script analyst for Columbia, Fox, and Paramount Pictures. He is also the author of the lavish tribute to Elvis, The King and co-author of The Academy Awards (Black Dog & Leventhal).

Product Details

Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; 5th edition (September 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 157912772X
ISBN-13: 978-1579127725
Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #862,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful

Handsome to Look At, but Sloppily Edited March 19, 2005

By BGK

Format:Hardcover

As an Academy Awards fan, I was pleased to receive this book as a birthday present. My version goes through 2001 and "A Beautiful Mind." It's a handsome book -- big, heavy, but nicely designed. For each year presented, brief bios of winners and photos of each are accompanied by facts and figures, as well as a short overview of that year.

Unfortunately, it's filled with errors from beginning to end. Perhaps these were caught in later editions, but it was embarassing. As I was reading it, I kept a running list of mistakes ... and they ranged from small to large. For example, in the write-up for Katharine Hepburn's first Oscar, it claims that she "went on to win eight Academy Awards by the end of her career." While she is the all-time acting champ in terms of wins, she won four, not eight. Marie Dressler's birth date is listed as 1838 in her bio ... which would mean she was 92 when she made "Min and Bill"! The correct date, I believe, is 1868. The description for Melvyn Douglas' win in 1979 is almost word-for-word the same description for his 1963 win! Shirley MacLaine's bio in 1983 lists films for which she was nominated but did not win, including two for which she was not. Then it says she was nominated six times, when in reality it was five. I could go on and on. The factoids called "Sins of Omission" list actors, actresses and films that failed to win a nomination. But every so often, it lists a person or film that WAS nominated. And in a complete headscratcher, under "Sins of Omission" for 1998, it lists as movie called "Sight Unseen" as an omitted best picture nominee. I'm fairly movie savvy, and I've NEVER heard of a film called "Sight Unseen."

The point is that these errors are presented as fact. And for readers unfamiliar with the Oscars, they will not realize that these errors exist. Again, I hope that later editions of this book clean up these errors. Otherwise, I'd go with another book on the Oscars if you're interested in learning about them.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

a very poor effort November 20, 2006

By Timothy J. Dunn

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is not only poorly edited and proofread, as a previous reviewer said, it is INCREDIBLY poorly edited and proofread. Also, it is not well written. Some entries are very sparase--it seems that the writers know nothing of the movie being honored, or the actor or actress winning the trophy, or the role for which they are winning. Did these writers even bother to see "A Passage to India"? You wouldn't know it from their discussion of Peggy Ashcroft's best supporting actress win. They wonder at Dianne Wiest forgetting to thank Woody Allen when she won her first Oscar for "Hannah and Her Sisters" remarking that Wiest was a frequent star of Allen's movies--but "Hannah" was her first movie with Allen. A lot of similar nonsense throughout the book, but it seems to get worse as we get closer to the present, and the carelessness becomes more and more enfuritating.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Quite a book for film fans August 1, 2006

By M. Emery

Format:Paperback

I checked for the errors in the 2006 update of this book that BGK noted in his previous review. Most of the errors are corrected. I don't think the write-up on Melvyn Douglas constitutes an error. A number of people won multiple Oscars, and some duplication of copy is inevitable. The only error I've found in this edition so far is that Michael Caine's name is put in bold for ALFIE in 1966, which indicates he won best actor. As the page before it notes, Paul Scofield won for A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. But with this much factual info, it's almost impossible for something not to be wrong, and at least the authors and publisher have been willing to correct errors. The book has great pix, many in color. It doesn't replace Damien Bona's INSIDE OSCAR and INSIDE OSCAR 2 for sheer wealth of info, but it's an easily browsed reference that almost any Oscar fan would enjoy. By the way, it covers the Oscars all the way to the 2006 ceremony, when CRASH trumped BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN for best picture--a travesty that will echo through Hollywood's history.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Gift for Grandson

I bought this book for my 12 year old grandson for Christmas. He is a movie buff and had enjoyed another book about the greatest movies ever made co-authored by Jim Piazza. Read more

Published on January 12, 2009 by S. Rawls

The Definitive book on the Oscars!

And the Oscar goes to....This Book is very Informative and a must for Oscar watchers. Telling you who should have been nominated, who was nominated and who should of won over who... Read more

Published on May 1, 2008 by David Colvin

Nice to own...after you've bought all the rest...

it's a nice book to have but Inside Oscar is sooo much better (specially Inside Oscar 2), so is Tom O Neill's Movie Awards which has a lot of inside info, not like Inside Oscar,... Read more

Published on February 9, 2008 by S. Ferrer

Intersting with great images....but could've used a good editing and...

There are so many mistakes in here...read the reviews for a highlight reel. I'll point out another one not listed: at the end of each year, there are lists of the nominees with the... Read more

Published on February 2, 2007 by W. C. Holston

I Haven't Missed The Oscars For More Than 37 Years!

Since my Junior High School years, I've been an avid fan of Oscar night, and the whole history of the Academy Awards and its winners. Read more

Published on September 22, 2006 by R. McRae

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If film, actors and the Academy Awards are of interest, THE ACADEMY AWARDS: THE COMPLETE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY must be part of any serious home or public lending collection. Read more

Published on August 17, 2006 by Midwest Book Review

"Hello, Gorgeous!"

The maxim "You can't judge a book by its cover" is sometimes wrong, as in the case of this Must-Have "Complete Unofficial History" of the Academy Awards. Read more

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A SUPER Reference Book!

I bought this book when it originally come out. It is a GREAT book! Beautiful Pictures, Info, tidbits..... The price is Great! If your into the movies and awards. Read more

Published on December 2, 2003 by Chifan7

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AS THE HORRORS OF WORLD WAR I receded, the Roaring Twenties rushed in to take the place of years of worry and dread. Read the first page

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Warner Bros, Buena Vista, Best Director, Studio Sound Dept, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Los Angeles, Walt Disney, New York Times, Sound Department, Academy Award, Seven Arts, Bette Davis, National Film Board of Canada, Bob Hope, Pauline Kael, Miramax Films, Samuel Goldwyn, Alfred Newman, Katharine Hepburn, New Line, Cedric Gibbons, Edith Head, Jack Nicholson, John Williams

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