{"product_id":"the-path-to-paradise-a-francis-ford-coppola-story-isbn-9780063037847","title":"The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Sam Wasson’s supremely entertaining book tracks the ups and downs, ins and outs, of a remarkable career. . . . A marvel of unshowy reportage.”—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eFifth Avenue, 5 A.M. \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Big Goodbye\u003c\/em\u003e returns with the definitive account of Academy Award–winning director Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-long dream to reinvent American filmmaking, if not the entire world, through his production company, American Zoetrope.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrancis Ford Coppola is one of the great American dreamers, and his most magnificent dream is American Zoetrope, the production company he founded in San Francisco years before his gargantuan success, when he was only thirty. Through Zoetrope’s experimental, communal utopia, Coppola attempted to reimagine the entire pursuit of moviemaking. Now, more than fifty years later, despite myriad setbacks, the visionary filmmaker’s dream persists, most notably in the production of his decades-in-the-making film and the culmination of his utopian ideals, \u003cem\u003eMegalopolis.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Wasson makes clear, the story of Zoetrope is also the story of Coppola’s wife, Eleanor Coppola, and their children, and of personal lives inseparable from artistic passion. It is a story that charts the divergent paths of Coppola and his cofounder and onetime apprentice, George Lucas, and of their very different visions of art and commerce. And it is a story inextricably bound up in the making of one of the greatest quixotic masterpieces ever attempted, \u003cem\u003eApocalypse Now\u003c\/em\u003e, and in what Coppola found in the jungles of the Philippines when he walked the razor’s edge. That story, already the stuff of legend, has never fully been told, until this extraordinary book.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A vivid biography of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and his production company, American Zoetrope . . . . A memorable portrait of an artist who has changed the cinematic landscape and whose work will endure.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This new book by Sam Wasson (who already proved himself one of the great modern chroniclers of the New Hollywood era with the \u003cem\u003eChinatown\u003c\/em\u003e making-of story \u003cem\u003eThe Big Goodbye\u003c\/em\u003e) chronicles the road to heaven Coppola trod after descending to Hell with \u003cem\u003eApocalypse Now.\u003c\/em\u003e The Vietnam War epic is already the subject of much reporting, but Wasson boasts unprecedented access to Coppola's personal archive—as well as a first-hand look at the making of a movie we can't wait to see.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A gripping new book . . . vividly chronicling how the director leveraged his two great movies into an assembly line of cinema.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDeadline\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Enthralling . . . . A complex portrait of an artist whose unwillingness to compromise cost him dearly. Movie buffs won’t want to miss this.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wasson creates a portrait of one man’s vast artistic ambition—one that (to this reader, anyway) portrays Coppola as a kind of precursor to the tech moguls who would take San Francisco as their base of operations decades after Coppola did so . . . . An insightful book that takes stock of Coppola’s importance to film history and creates a vibrant portrait of a restless artist constantly on the move.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInsideHook\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A meticulous portrait of a daring artist who risked his career to establish a studio of his own.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard Brody, The New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eThe Path to Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e puts you there, and shows\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ehow Coppola got so close to the sun . . . . Wasson captures the extreme ups and downs with a combination of precision and imagination, often bringing an appropriately gonzo tone to the story.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wasson’s getting pretty good at this, isn’t he? After entertaining us to no end in behind-the-scenes treats such as \u003cem\u003eFifth Avenue, Five A.M.\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Big Goodbye\u003c\/em\u003e—not to mention a massive Bob Fosse bio, and a fine oral history of Hollywood, co-authored with the great Jeanine Basinger—we get this: an inside look at Francis Ford Coppola and his independent studio, Zoetrope. With great access to Coppola, Wasson gives us a portrait of one of our most important directors just as Coppola continues production for \u003cem\u003eMegalopolis\u003c\/em\u003e, his longest and perhaps greatest cinematic obsession. This book is a movie-lover’s feast.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Before now, writing a biography of Francis Ford Coppola has been like aiming at a moving target. . . . Wasson . . . has deftly judged the moment. . . . The effect is like movie cross-cutting, vivid with changing event and contrast. . . . That Coppola saw further than others into the future of film is argued persuasively.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Sam Wasson’s supremely entertaining new book, \u003cem\u003eThe Path to Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e, tracks the ups and downs, ins and outs, of a remarkable career. . . . A marvel of unshowy reportage.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sam Wasson tells the story of a true dreamer and the price he has paid for his greatest dreams.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A bold new book . . . . Wasson’s one of the best at writing about the lives of artists.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCBS Saturday Morning\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Of all that has been written about Francis Ford Coppola, this book most accurately captures the film director’s chaotic life . . . . Wasson has written a string of successful books about the entertainment business [...] but this one might be his best so far. Rich in detail, it’s full of surprises and revelations, and impeccably researched and documented. For fans of books about moviemaking in general, and Francis Ford Coppola in particular, this is required reading.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Richly detailed.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If you have any interest in film history and the remarkably fecund and thrilling era of American moviemaking in the ’70s, \u003cem\u003eThe Path to Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e is a must read. It tells its tale without brakes, storming from one intense period of Coppola’s life to another, leaving you breathless at the end of every chapter. It is a fantastic whirlwind of a biography that will make you feel as if you just finished a truly amazing film about a truly amazing man who never takes no for an answer and still believes that dreams can change the world.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookreporter.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Absorbing . . . . What makes \u003cem\u003eThe Path to Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e so refreshing is its focus. Rather than simply rehashing the oft-told tales of making \u003cem\u003eThe Godfather\u003c\/em\u003e, Wasson covers the American Zoetrope experience . . . and, finally, Coppola’s rebirth as a businessman and director.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Film Stage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Mouthwatering . . . . A sizzlingly vivid and ­compulsive new book . . . . Wasson has a great journalist’s eye for telling details and a great stylist’s ear, washing the reader along on a torrent of prose that mirrors Coppola’s own unfailing energy. Gorgeous turns of phrase abound.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wasson’s account will hold immense appeal for any film buff interested in the era, as will the cast of Mr. Coppola’s peers, proteges and adversaries ranging from John Milius to Steven Spielberg and Michael Cimino. The already thick lore around the absolutely berserk production of Mr. Coppola’s \u003cem\u003eApocalypse Now\u003c\/em\u003e gets an additional layer, but equally fascinating is the exploration of ambitious failures like 1981’s \u003cem\u003eOne From the Heart \u003c\/em\u003eand big-budget flops like 1984’s\u003cem\u003e The Cotton Club\u003c\/em\u003e.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890413727973,"sku":"NP9780063037847","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063037847.jpg?v=1730233231","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-path-to-paradise-a-francis-ford-coppola-story-isbn-9780063037847","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}