Excitement has surrounded the launch of J.W.Rinzler’s new book, The Making Of: The Empire Strikes Back. For months, fan websites and blogs have been ablaze with activity as Star Wars fans and cinephiles across the world eagerly anticipated the sequel to Rinzler’s critically acclaimed The Making Of: Star Wars. Fortunately, they have not been disappointed. With its exclusive access to the Lucasfilm archives, The Making Of: The Empire Strikes Back offers a treasure trove of never-before published photos, design sketches, paintings, production notes, interviews, anecdotes, and scripts, to offer a complete behind-the-scenes look at the production of an iconic film.

On Saturday fans celebrated the launch of The Making Of: The Empire Strikes Back at Bristol’s Forbidden Planet with an Empire Strikes Back themed extravaganza. Complete with costumes and lightsabers, fans from all generations enjoyed celebrating both the movie and the launch of this highly anticipated book. Similar celebrations have been planned at Southampton’s Forbidden Planet for this Saturday (23/10/10).




The Making of The Empire Strikes Back is available to buy online here.

Leonard Rossiter:
Character Driven
The Untold Story of a Comic Genius

Affectionate, honest and long overdue, Character Driven is the first biography of one of Britain’s greatest, but least-known character actors. Whether playing seedy landlord Rupert Rigsby in Rising Damp or frustrated suburban dreamer Reggie Perrin, Rossiter’s performances were iconic and utterly memorable. Like Peter Sellers or Ronnie Barker, his characters loom larger in our national consciousness than the actor who played them. Until now, Rossiter himself has remained a mystery.

Via exhaustive research and in-depth interviews with those who knew and worked with Rossiter, Guy Adams reveals the man behind the threadbare cardigan and manic grimace.

Leonard Rossiter: Character Driven will finally shed light on the personality of one of the greatest comic actors of the twentieth century, and reveal why he was able to give such epoch-defining performances.

Guy Adams worked as an actor for twelve years before becoming a writer, specialising in TV and entertainment. He is the author of the official guide to Life on Mars and the bestselling humour book based on the series, The Rules of Modern Policing: 1973 Edition. He also wrote the Torchwood novel The House That Jack Built.

Leonard Rossiter: Character Driven is available to purchase here.

To The Last Round
The Epic British Stand on the Imjin River, Korea 1951
by Andrew Salmon

On the eve of Remembrance Day 2010, a book on Britain's bloodiest - but almost completely unknown - post-1945 battle won the inaugural Hampshire Libraries (Special Collections) Award for the Best Military Book of 2009 from a field of 60 key military titles.

“In a list of very strong military books, this is an excellent book," said renowned broadcaster and bestselling historian Professor Richard Holmes, the patron of the award. "It well-deserves the winning award."

"A neglected battle that in fact deserves to join the first rank of British military actions, To the Last Round is a book that does its subject proud," added Librarian Andrew Dalziel. "This is easily one of the best books I have read on a military subject in recent years: truly inspiring."

The inaugural award is designed to highlight the three "armed services" collections - aviation, naval and military - in Hampshire Libraries. The military collection alone boasts 18, 000 titles.

Salmon, a Seoul-based reporter, sent an acceptance speech filmed on the Imjn battleground, where the 1951 British positions remain fortified to this day against the North Korean threat.

"I'd like to thank the award panel for recognizing an unknown author writing about a forgotten war," Salmon said. "Though Korea remains the biggest, bloodiest and most brutal conflict fought by British soldiers since World War II, it is almost completely unknown in the UK; I hope this award will bring veterans some long-overdue recognition."

Salmon and film makers Dan Gordon and Howard Reid are hoping to create a documentary on the book. The author is currently finalizing a prequel, Scorched Earth, Black Snow which tells the story of the Australian and British soldiers in North Korea in winter 1950, the most dramatic, but most terrible months of the war, in the words of the men who came home. It will be published by Aurum in early 2011.


Richard Holmes handing the award to Sam Mercer (representing the author), a veteran of the Gloster battalion annihilated on the Imjin, and a survivor of the grim North Korean POW camps. A chance meeting with Mercer, who lost a leg and an eye in the fighting, provided Salmon with the inspiration for his book. Richard Sullivan of Osprey Publishing (the award sponsors) stands between them.


Graham Eames was there on behalf of Aurum Press and Andrew Salmon

Ashes 2011 by Gideon Haigh

England's stunning victory over Astralia in the Ahses series galvanised the nation. Now, Gideon Haigh, aclaimed as the 'finest living cricket writer', has written the first book about this remarkable sporting feat. Following each Test day by day, mixing vivid reportage with erudite wit, Haigh's chronicle is no 'instant bok' but rather a characteristically considered and memorable work.

Coming: February 2011
Format: Hardback, 256pp w./ 8pp colour plates
Price: £12.99



The Sport of Kings, Queens and Four-Legged Athletes Edited by Martin Smith

Horse racing is a massive commercial industry with a multi-million pound turnover in betting, breeding and prizemoney. But it is also a fun day out. The Sport of Kings... relives racing's greatest moments through the passion and authority of the sports pages' true thoroughbreds inclusing John Oaksey, Brough Scott and J.A. McGrath.

Coming: February 2011
Format: Hardback, 384pp
Price: £20



Mile by Mile on Britain's Railways by S.N. Pike

Back in 1947 someone called S.N. Pike - we know almost nothing about him - published three pamphlets which mapped in forensic detail one of Britain's mainline rail routes. Today, Aurum reissues those three - adding a fourth in the same style - in this single volume. Full of period interst, this delightful book reminds us of what once could be seen at leisure on a long railway journey.

Coming: March 2011
Format: Hardback, 160pp w./ line drawings throughout
Price: £12.99



The Cheltenham Festival by Robin Oakley

The Cheltenham Festival is nowadays the biggest event in the racing year in visitor numbers and 2011 marks a hundred years since the birth of the Festival. A work of both hisory and celebration, Oakley's book is a must have for both the committed festival-goer and the armchair racing fan.

Coming: March 2011
Format: Hardback, 304pp
Price: £20




Subdued Magic : Raymond Chandler a Life by Tom Williams

A majour new biography of one of the twentieth century's most popular, influential and enduring literary figures. Tom Williams' fascinating book covers everything from Chandler's isolated upbringing to his growing alcohol problems, pointing out the origins of his prose, characters and style along the way.

Coming: April 2011
Format: Hardback, 400pp w./ 16pp B&W plates
Price: £20




The Man Who Invented The Daleks by Alwym W. Turner

Terry Nation was one of the most successful and prolific writers for television and radio that Britain ever produced, and his most famous creations, the daleks, ensured the success of Doctor Who. This is the first serious, mainstream account of Terry Nation's life and tremendous contribution to British television.

Coming: May 2011
Format: Hardback, 356pp
Price: £20


The VW Camper Van: a biography by Mike Harding

The Volkswagen Camper van has long escaped its military origins and become the embodiment of freedom and the open road. Combining his endless curiosity flair for stand up comedy, Harding has created a wonderful social history of the postwar yearsthrough the prism of a single transport icon.

Coming: April 2011
Format: Hardback, 256pp
Price: £16.99

Whitney Port, MTV reality star turned clothing designer, now launches her new lifestyle guide, True Whit; a personal and honest template for ‘designing a life of style, beauty, and fun’. Through a range of chapters on everything from career advice and relationship issues to fashion tips, fitness plans and even decorating ideas, Whitney shares the secrets to an independent and glamorous world.

Now, Aurum Press, in association with Lookfantastic, are offering you the chance to quiz the girl herself and receive some individual advice and ‘Whittyisms’ on any element of creating a fabulous and stylish life of your own. All you have to do is send your question to the Lookfantastic Twitter page and, on 19th May 2011, Whitney will be personally responding to a selection of submissions. For full details about the competition and how to enter, follow this link: http://blog.lookfantastic.com/?p=3563.

Whitney Port, True Whit is available to buy now: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/184513673X/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1A1GA14XN229ZJ1NQEFE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294

You can see cosmopolitan.co.uk’s feature on the book here: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/campus/student-careers/interview-tips

‘Intimate and honest, this book provides tips on everything from dating to decorating’- Heat Magazine.

The Ray Harryhausen Fantasy Scrapbook
by Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton

Widely acclaimed as one of the most influential film animators of all time, Ray Harryhausen is responsible for such classic films as Clash of the Titans, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts. In the film world his name is synonymous with the pioneering of stop motion animation and he has been an inspiration to household names such as Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas, among many others.

The Ray Harryhausen Fantasy Scrapbook gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life and works of this creative genius. Designed in the form of a scrapbook, this collection includes everything from concept drawings, scripts and poster designs to outtakes from classic films, models from unrealised projects and letters from cast and crew. This book is a must-have for film buffs, Harryhausen fans and anyone interested in animation, graphics or the film-making process.

Coming: November 2011
Format: Hardback, 192 pp, 900 colour and b&w illustrations
Price: £30

Despite numerous logistical challenges due to the lockdown, BLR Airport, backed with cutting-edge tech-assets for cargo processing, ensured that products reach their destination, while still offering the same freshness, quality and appeal.

The first flight for evacuating Indians, mostly Keralites, stranded in Abu Dhabi departed from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) at 12.30 pm on Thursday, official sources said .

The flight was part of the Vande Bharat mission which started on Thursday to bring back stranded Indian nationals home amid the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Passengers will be tested for temperature, one of the symptoms of COVID-19, before boarding and only those showing no symptoms would be able to make the journey.

Quality of forecasts as meteorological information from aeroplanes has fallen up to 90%.

He's reportedly keen to do the Hindi version of Gowtham Tinnanuri's Telugu hit, Jersey.

Take our fun poll.

'On our first date, I spoke for some five hours. We met a few more times and then that first movie happened. I was married in six months, Dulquer Salmaan talks about his life and career.

Rajnikanth spoke at the trailer launch of his forthcoming film Darbar in Mumbai.

Ace photographer Karthik Srinivasan's 2020 Royals calendar featured the stars of the southern film industry, and they looked so stunning! Of course, a lot of hard work was involved to get them to look so royal and glamorous.

Ananya Pandey has bagged a role opposite the Arjun Reddy hero in his next film, directed by Puri Jagannadh.

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