"Christopher Knopf is a consistently superb writer with his body of work a treasury of accomplishment any writer would envy. Here are the personal experiences that formed his keen insight on life and the nimble mind that led him to the Presidency of the Writers Guild of America, West. He speaks with complete honesty of the many people he has worked with and worked for in a vacillating, perilous profession. It makes a helluva read."
- John Gay, Oscar nominated Screenwriter, Separate Tables

"Over his 50 year career writing for movies and television, Chris Knopf worked with many of...

David "Scott" Fitzgerald, a blue-ribbon feature writer for a major New York monthly magazine, is fired for an insidious act of literary corruption. No one will hire him. Possessions repossessed, desperate, down to his last can of tuna, Scott finds himself approached by a multi-billionaire, Hugo Medlock, who hires Scott for his mendacity to secure the one thing in the world Medlock cannot secure for himself. Taken into a world he quickly discovers he knows nothing about, Scott finds himself encountering forces far more deadly than anything he'd imagined.

When Robert Aldrich directed his unforgettable film, Emperor of the North (1973), featuring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Keith Carradine, changes were made to the original screenplay by award-winning Christopher Knopf. The film still managed to please audiences and has remained a revered favorite among many. Even the theme ballad, "A Man and a Train," written by Frank De Vol with lyrics by Hal David and sung by Marty Robbins, reached #40 on the Billboard chart. Despite the vigor of Hollywood hoopla, Knopf always longed to reset the ruthless railroad tale on the right tracks. Now, nearly...