Goodnight John Boy

For eight wonderful years The Waltons, the story of a family living in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains during the Depression, entertained America and the world. Yet this television show was more than entertaining. Each episode combined wonderful stories and "teachable moments" in which adults and children alike learned the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice, and kindness. As is true in most families, the Waltons faced many challenges, occasionally stumbled along the way, but they struggled to live their lives within the framework of the values they believed and taught. Goodnight, John-Boy is a memory book of The Waltons, the number-one television show of its time. Filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and profiles of people who appeared on the show, it introduces readers to the Hamner family members who later became characters on The Waltons, suggests events and locales that inspired many of the episodes, and traces Earl Hamner's life as a writer from Virginia to New York to Hollywood. Included is a description of each episode plus reminiscence, comments, and personal feelings from numerous people connected with the series-writers, actors, directors, producers, family, and fans. Heavily illustrated with publicity shots and personal photographs taken by cast, crew, and others, Goodnight John-Boy will be a welcomed book by millions of loyal fans. When The Waltons first aired in 1972, it was at the bottom of the Nielson ratings-by December it led the list. That dramatic leap came about because fans told their friends about it and wrote the CBS network to praise the show and to plead that the show not be canceled. Thirty years later, Goodnight, John-Boy is sure to touch the hearts of the show's fans again.

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child. Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep. The tales he had heard about evacuees didn't seem to fit Willie. 'Ungrateful' and 'wild' were the adjectives he had heard used, or just plain 'homesick'. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen. Britain, 1940. With World War Two raging all around, young children are being sent from their homes in the city to the countryside for safety. When eight-year-old Willie Beech first arrives on Tom Oakley's doorstep, neither are quite sure what to make of each another. Brought up in terrible poverty, Willie is terribly shy, and totally unprepared for village life - but the gruff-but-gentle 'Mister Tom' quickly takes him under his wing. Neither he nor Willie could ever have predicted the journey they will go on together - nor the unbreakable bond that will be formed. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, and rightly hailed as a true classic of children's literature, Goodnight Mister Tom is a beautifully told, deeply moving story about the power of friendship, kindness, hope - and love. 'Everyone's idea of a smash-hit novel: full-blown characters to love and hate, moments of grief and joy, and a marvellous story that knows just how to grab the emotions' - Guardian

A tale of two very different worlds, both shattered by the loss of loved ones. Tragic, comic and full of hope, thanks to a dog called Boy. The kennel has been JC’s home ever since his new adoptive father locked him inside. For hours on end, JC sits and tells his dog Boy how he came to this country: his family, the orphanage and the Haitian earthquake that swept everything away. When his adoptive mother Melanie rescues him, life starts to feel normal again. Until JC does something bad, something that upset his new father so much that he and Boy are banished to the kennel. But as his new father gets sicker, JC realizes they have to find a way out. And so begins a stunning story of a boy, a dog and their journey to freedom.

Battle. Action. 2000AD. Misty. The British Comics Revolution! Read Em And Weep is the fictional saga of the Revolution that changed British comics forever. Based on the real-life comics and their creators, it's the story of Blitzkrieg! (Battle), Aaagh! (Action), Space Warp (2000 AD starring Judge Dredd), and Raven (Misty) told over four novels continuing with Book Two... Goodnight, John-Boy. Now Dave and Greg have created Aaagh!, the 'comic of the streets', and Joy writes about that great white shark. Every week it devours human prey - from nuclear scientists who destroyed Bikini Atoll to the President of the United States when Airforce One crashes in the Pacific. Aaagh! so enrages the establishment, it's torn up on live TV - an event that actually happened! Dave and Greg fight back and their crimes lead them to be sentenced to the Siberia of comics: the Laarf! Puzzle Specials. Joy rescues them by suggesting they create the thrill-powered Space Warp. Then, to her fury, Dave and Greg sell out and bring back Dan Darwin, a legendary space hero that she believes should have been left to rest in space. Even deadlier than his comics, Dave continues his work as a Serial Killer, a secret vigilante who kills monsters that harm kids. And his next target is TV celebrity and 'national treasure' Fabulous Keen. But Keen, the ultimate monster, discovers Dave's identity and prepares a terrible revenge. The 1970s - a dangerous time for kids. An even more dangerous time for adults. Written by Pat Mills, creator of Action and 2000 AD, and co-creator of the cult-classic superhero hunter, Marshal Law (Marvel and D.C. Comics).

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR REALITY. IT'S ALREADY BEEN WARPED! From Pat Mills, creator of 2000AD and developer of Judge Dredd, comes SPACEWARP, a British Science Fiction comic of great NEW hero comic strips for the Science Fiction world we live in today. Featuring Special Forces One at war with Giant Viruses! Jurassic Punks versus Dinosaurs! Xecutioners authorized to terminate Aliens! Slayer - one Robot in a Galactic war against a million Space Knights. Hellbreaker escapes from Hell to punish the Living. Fu-tant - a terrifying school for Mutants! ★Space Cops! ★Mutant secret agents! ★Killer robots! ★Virus armies! ★Alien invaders! All interacting in a unique Spacewarp Universe! Inventive, action-packed, heartfelt, heroic, humorous, fast-paced and fantastic value for money - as only the Brits know how. Aimed at ordinary readers of all ages. COMPLETE in Phase One, so you don't wait for the next issue to find out what happens. Ready NOW for you to upload to your BRAIN. With FREE bonus story Future Schlock: BRANDED! and EXTRAS on spacewarpcomic.com. SPACEWARP: for Today's Science Fiction Readers!

"Since Spencer's Mountain I have followed Earl Hamner's career with much interest and much satisfaction, having picked a winner." --Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird Earl Hamner, one of America's best-loved storytellers, has never been the subject of a full-length study. Earl Hamner: From Walton's Mountain to Tomorrow fills that gap. A native Virginian, Hamner once said, "Even though families are said to be shattered these days, and God is said to be dead, if people can revisit the scenes and places where these values did exist, possibly they can come to believe in them again, or . . . to adapt some kind of belief in God, or faith in the family unit, or just getting home again." This vision of what makes for a whole life permeates all of Hamner's work. It is present in the novel Spencer's Mountain, upon which The Waltons was loosely based, and in his screenplays, such as the work he is perhaps most proud of, Charlotte's Web. It is even present in such unlikely places as the eight scripts he contributed to the classic television series The Twilight Zone and the tales of cold-blooded betrayal and boundless ambition depicted on Falcon Crest. In Earl Hamner: From Walton's Mountain to Tomorrow, readers will discover the integrated nature of his career, finding that there is no real conflict between the warm folksiness of The Waltons, the offbeat fantasies of his Twilight Zone scripts, the unscrupulous ethics displayed on Falcon Crest, and the myriad other novels and scripts he has written and TV programs he has produced. Instead, readers will find that there is a pervasive theme running throughout Hamner's work, that of a man forever taking a backward glance at his roots for direction in finding what makes life worthwhile. Upon learning that this book was being written, Hamner told one of his friends, "I can't imagine anyone wanting to read a book about me, much less write one about me." Readers of this book will find Hamner's doubts indeed misplaced. They will also discover a delightful individual who has enjoyed a long, accomplished career as a storyteller laboring for a worthy goal: that posterity may know of an age and a people whose legacy has not, through silence, been permitted to pass away as if a dream.

Entry includes attestations of the head word's or phrase's usage, usually in the form of a quotation. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Our understanding of history is often mediated by popular culture, and television series set in the past have provided some of our most indelible images of previous times. Yet such historical television programs always reveal just as much about the era in which they are produced as the era in which they are set; there are few more quintessentially late-90s shows than That ‘70s Show, for example. From Memory to History takes readers on a journey through over fifty years of historical dramas and sitcoms that were set in earlier decades of the twentieth century. Along the way, it explores how comedies like M*A*S*H and Hogan’s Heroes offered veiled commentary on the Vietnam War, how dramas ranging like Mad Men echoed current economic concerns, and how The Americans and Halt and Catch Fire used the Cold War and the rise of the internet to reflect upon the present day. Cultural critic Jim Cullen is lively, informative, and incisive, and this book will help readers look at past times, present times, and prime time in a new light.