A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 2007 Del Rey Books/Random House  On Wednesday, May 25, 1977, 20th Century Fox released writer-director George Lucas's third feature film, Star Wars, with little fanfare and only in 32 theaters across the U.S. The studio had such low expectations for 'that science film" that it told many theater owners that they could only exhibit Fox's alleged shoo-in for box office success, The Other Side of Midnight, if they agreed to show Lucas's space-fantasy film about "a boy, a girl, and a universe."  Now, looking back across the gap of 41 years, it's hard to remember a time when Star Wars was not a part of our culture, much less the cornerstone of a multi-media franchise that includes three Saga trilogies, two CGI-animated TV series (with a third series, Star Wars Resistance ) on the way, and a series of stand-alone Anthology films that includes 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and this year's Solo: A Star Wars Story.    But until the s

(C) 2001 Rubicon Inc. and Berkley Books Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces , the seventh and final entry in Tom Clancy's nonfiction Guided Tour series about America's armed forces, sets its sights on the shadowy -- and often misunderstood -- roles and missions of the men the author calls "the quiet professionals" of the Army's Special Forces command. They are sent to the world's hot spots-on covert missions fraught with danger. They are called on to perform at the peak of their physical and mental capabilities, primed for combat and surveillance, yet ready to pitch in with disaster relief operations. They are the Army's Special Forces Groups. Now follow Tom Clancy as he delves into the training and tools, missions and mindset of these elite operatives. Special Forces includes: The making of Special Forces personnel: recruitment and training A rare look at actual Special Forces Group deployment Exercises Tools of

(C) 2015 W.W. Norton On August 7, 1942, exactly eight months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, elements of the First Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal and two other islands occupied by enemy forces. Two months earlier, the U.S. Navy had won a decisive engagement at the Battle of Midway and stopped Japan’s eastward offensive by sinking four aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser and thwarting Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plans to destroy the American Pacific Fleet. Now, for the first time in World War II, American forces were seizing the strategic initiative and taking offensive action against a major Axis power. Code-named Operation WATCHTOWER, the landings on Guadalcanal, Tonombago, and Gavutu had one goal: the capture of a new Japanese airfield under construction on Guadalcanal’s north coast. If the Japanese completed it, the air base could be used to cut the lifeline between the U.S. and Australia. If this occurred, Australia could face a Japanes