Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Micahel Schulman. As the title says, a history of the Oscars. Interesting enough when the Academy of Motion pictures began it was more of a guild, and the Oscars were a very minor part of the organization. This was all overshadowed by SAG and the Writers Guild as time went on, and the Oscars became a force of its own. Any fan of movies will find something interesting in this book. Many stories of the films that everyone thought should have won best picture but didn't, and the many personalities that were of course involved.

All Hands On Deck

All Hands on Deck: A Modern-Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World by Will Sofrin. To transport the sailing ship the Rose from Newport to Californian to be used in the filming of the Master and Commander films, the shipped sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, transfersing the Panama Canal. This is the story of the voyage by Will when he was a young man, along with the crew who made it happen. Quite a lot of adventure at sea occured trying to transport this historic ship across the globe. Really a coming of age story but a sea story about a technology that was outdated but still servicable.

The Wager

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann, the amazing story of a shipwreck off the coast of Patagonia in 1741. Chronicles the survivers and how they persavered on a deserted island and how many made there way back to England. Remarkable story and really remarkable that so much of the original accounts survive by the people involved.