Often typecast as a menacing figure, Peter Lorre achieved Hollywood fame first as a featured player and later as a character actor who trademarked his screen performances with a delicately strung balance between good and evil. His portrayal of the grisly child murderer in Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M (1931) catapulted him to international fame. Lang said of Lorre: "He gave one of the best performances in film history and certainly the best in his life." Today, the Hungarian-born actor is also recognized for his riveting performances in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942).
Patterson's epic tale of the Dunne family, who find themselves trapped in paradise, fighting for their lives, is a strong commercial novel that demands even stronger performances. Luckily, Dylan Baker and Jennifer Van Dyck are up to the challenge and put forth simply infectious performances that will set listeners' pulses racing. Playing distinct adolescent roles as well as a number of others, the two narrators display their wide ranging abilities and captivate to no end. Listeners will be enthralled from the very beginning; this duo knows exactly when to crank up the tension.
You wear the clothes they design. You read the books and magazines they write and publish. You admire their work in museums and decorate your homes with their ideas. You cheer them on in sports arenas and rock out to their tunes. You applaud their performances on screen and stage. Who are these people and why is the world so fascinated with them?
This series has received the highest praise from amateur and professional magicians alike, throughout Germany, France and Spain. Now, with its appearance in English, acclaim for Card College has grown even more enthusiastic. The idea of producing a thorough course in card magic has seldom been attempted, and those few rare efforts are dated and often difficult to obtain.
The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling students and researchers to read for themselves, for example, comments on early performances of Shakespeare's plays, or reactions to the first publication of Jane Austen's novels.
