First student of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Sam Kashner tells with humor and grace his life with the Beats. But the best story is Kashner himself -- the coming-of-age of a young man in the chaotic world of the very idols he hoped to emulate.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

With "fresh emphasis on little-known stories and] an impressive number of eyewitnesses" ("Chicago Tribune"), Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair present "a revealing, ...ever fascinating glimpse into the shadowy reality and hidden mores of Hollywood in what was popularly considered a decade of innocence" (Suzanne Finstad). " S]urprisingly vivid accounts" ("People") of such public icons as Lana Turner, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, and Mae West explore the private scandals exploited by tabloids such as "Confidential." Highlighting Hollywood's curious religious revival with The Robe, the film...

Meet Finkie Finkelstein: businessman from New Jersey, lovingly obsessed fan of Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra. To Finkie, Frank is the model of a man -- elegant, sophisticated, talented, with charm to spare. Finkie has modeled his life after his idol; he's seen all the movies, bought all of the records, even formed his own little Rat Pack at work. All his life decisions are made with Frank in mind. Now if only he could let Frank know how much he means to him...
Through a series of letters to his idol, Finkie's life unfolds; a life where Sinatra is center stage, while all the rest takes a...

From veteran entertainment reporter Sam Kashner and biographer Nancy Schoenberger comes the definitive account of the greatest Hollywood love story ever told the romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Kashner has interviewed Elizabeth Taylor numerous times and is the only journalist given access to her extensive collection of personal letters and journals, and he and Schoenberger have also interviewed the Burton family at length, including Burton s actress daughter Kate. This is truly an authorized and singularly informed biography of these two larger-than-life stars, and of their...