first edition Hard Cover
2005 · New York
by Vaz, Mark Cotta; Jackson, Peter
New York: Villard, 2005. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 6x1x9. First edition. Top edge of jacket lightly bumped, light scratch on rear jacket panel. 2005 Hard Cover. xvi, 478 pp. Explorer, war hero, filmmaker, and cinema pioneer Merian C. Cooperâthe adventurer who created King Kongâwas truly larger than life. âPictures cannot be made from an executiveâs desk,â âCoopâ declared, and he did more than talk the talkâhe walked the walk to the far corners of the globe, with a motion picture camera in tow, in an era when those corners were truly unknown, untamed, and unforgiving. Cooperâs place in history is assured, thanks not only to the monstrous gorilla from Skull Island but because the story of Kongâs creator is even bigger and bolder than the beast he made into a cultural icon. Spellbound since boyhood by tales of life-threatening adventure and exotic locales, Cooper plunged again and again into harrowing expeditions that took him to places not yet civilized by modern man. Cooper was one of the first bomber pilots in World War I. After the war, he helped form the famous Kosciuszko Squadron in battle-torn Poland. He then turned his attention to producing documentary films that chronicled his hair-raising encounters with savage warriors, man-eating tigers, nomadic tribes, and elephant stampedes. In addition to producing King Kong, he was the first to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, arranged Katharine Hepburnâs screen test, collaborated with John Ford on Hollywoodâs greatest Westerns, and then changed the face of film forever with Cinerama, the original âvirtual reality.â He returned to military service during World War II, serving with General Claire Chennault in China, flying missions into the heart of enemy territory. This book is a stunning tribute to a two-fisted visionary who packed a multitude of lifetimes into eighty remarkable years. The first comprehensive biography of this unique man and his amazing time, itâs the tale of someone whose greatest desire was always to be living dangerously. (Inventory #: 2341635)