Mark Cotta Vaz

Filled with larger-than-life characters, and revelations of the vision and technology it took to dominate the skies before and during, World War II, here is a gripping piece of aviation history. Pan Am at War chronicles the airline's historic role in advancing aviation and serving America's national interest before and during World War II. From its inception, Pan American Airways operated as the "wings of democracy," spanning six continents and placing the country at the leading edge of international aviation. At the same time, it was clandestinely helping to fight America's wars. Utilizing government documents, declassified Freedom of Information Act material, and company documents, the authors have uncovered stories of Pan Am's stunning role as an instrument of American might:The airline's role in building air bases in Latin America and countering Axis interests that threatened the Panama CanalCreating transatlantic and trans-Africa supply lines for sending Lend-Lease equipment to BritainCooperation with Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese nationalist government to pioneer the dangerous "Hump" route over the HimalayasThe dangerous seventeen-thousand-mile journey that took President Roosevelt to the high-stakes Casablanca Conference with Winston ChurchillThe daring flight that delivered uranium for the atomic bomb. For anyone interested in aviation, business, or military history, here is astonishing story filled with big ideas and the leaders who made them a reality.

Delve into more than 85 years of the most iconic vehicle in superhero history with Batmobile: The Complete History––now expanded to include the most exciting Batmobile exploits of the last decade! A new and updated edition of the complete history of the sleek, sophisticated, incomparable Batmobile. From its humble beginnings in the pages of Detective Comics in the 1930s to its unforgettable appearance in 2022’s The Batman––and every comic, film, and animated reimagining in between––this book explores each incarnation of the Batmobile in incredible detail and scope. In addition to comic books, the Batmobile has been immortalized in nearly every imaginable medium, including film, television, toys, and video games. This expanded edition will shed new light on the supercharged Batmobile from Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman, the gritty, DIY muscle car from Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and many more from the past decade.

How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II

Superman may be faster than a speeding bullet, but even he can't outrun copyright law. Since the dawn of the pulp hero in the 1930s, publishers and authors have fought over the privilege of making money off of comics, and the authors and artists usually have lost. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, got all of $130 for the rights to the hero. In Empire of the Superheroes, Mark Cotta Vaz argues that licensing and litigation do as much as any ink-stained creator to shape the mythology of comic characters. Vaz reveals just how precarious life was for the legends of the industry. Siegel and Shuster-and their heirs-spent seventy years battling lawyers to regain rights to Superman. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon were cheated out of their interest in Captain America, and Kirby's children brought a case against Marvel to the doorstep of the Supreme Court. To make matters worse, the infant comics medium was nearly strangled in its crib by censorship and moral condemnation. For the writers and illustrators now celebrated as visionaries, the "golden age" of comics felt more like hard times. The fantastical characters that now earn Hollywood billions have all-too-human roots. Empire of the Superheroes digs them up, detailing the creative martyrdom at the heart of a pop-culture powerhouse.

The inspiring true story of how James Cameron bucked convention to lead a disparate team of free-thinking rebels on a record-breaking expedition to the Challenger Deep. On March 26, 2012, James Cameron made history when he dove his custom-built submersible to the deepest place on earth, the Challenger Deep. Cameron’s research expedition to explore deep-ocean environments garnered intense international interest, but the inspiring story of how he bucked convention to pull it off has never been told. Until now. Conceived by Cameron’s fertile imagination, the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible started life as a series of sketches for a vertical underwater vehicle that could shoot the Mariana Trench like a rocket. Determined to turn what many saw as a crazy idea into reality, Cameron began to assemble a disparate team of free-thinking rebels—including engineers, movie-prop builders, and high-school dropouts—whose unconventional ideas would not be constrained by academic orthodoxy. Under a veil of absolute secrecy, Cameron led the carefully selected group as they began the difficult process of testing and building the unique vehicle from scratch, applying bleeding-edge ideas to its design and construction. No one involved had ever built a submersible before. Encountering a number of unforeseen challenges, Cameron was forced to accelerate his timeline, leading his team of rogue thinkers toward an uncertain outcome. Facing tremendous pressure, great personal risk, and unimaginable tragedy, Cameron ultimately triumphed using a principle he calls “group genius”—a belief that no one person on the project had all the skills required to ensure success but that together they were unstoppable. Told through candid emails accompanied by Cameron’s brutally honest commentary, Pressure is a deeply inspiring lesson in radical innovation, orchestral leadership, and group genius.

Filled with larger-than-life characters, and revelations of the vision and technology it took to dominate the skies before and during, World War II, here is a gripping piece of aviation history. Pan Am at War chronicles the airline's historic role in advancing aviation and serving America's national interest before and during World War II. From its inception, Pan American Airways operated as the "wings of democracy," spanning six continents and placing the country at the leading edge of international aviation. At the same time, it was clandestinely helping to fight America's wars. Utilizing government documents, declassified Freedom of Information Act material, and company documents, the authors have uncovered stories of Pan Am's stunning role as an instrument of American might: The airline's role in building air bases in Latin America and countering Axis interests that threatened the Panama Canal Creating transatlantic and trans-Africa supply lines for sending Lend-Lease equipment to Britain Cooperation with Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese nationalist government to pioneer the dangerous "Hump" route over the Himalayas The dangerous seventeen-thousand-mile journey that took President Roosevelt to the high-stakes Casablanca Conference with Winston Churchill The daring flight that delivered uranium for the atomic bomb. For anyone interested in aviation, business, or military history, here is astonishing story filled with big ideas and the leaders who made them a reality.

This book documents the making of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar in fascinating detail. Featuring interviews with the acclaimed director, screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, and key cast, with candid pictures from the set, the book will also focus on scientist Kip Thorne, whose revelatory theories about the nature of time and space inspired the movie's narrative. INTERSTELLAR and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc (S14)

This is an extraordinary new vision for the beloved character presented through a dynamic selection of concept illustrations, sketches, storyboards, and other materials. Featuring interviews with the film's director and key crew and cast, this is the complete story of the making of Godzilla, from concept to final frames. The definitive book on one of the most anticipated films of 2014.

Published to coincide with the release of Warner Bros. and Legendary's Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, this visually stunning book presents an extraordinary new vision for the beloved character through a dynamic selection of concept illustrations, sketches, storyboards, and other pre-production materials. Godzilla: The Art of Destruction is the definitive book on one of the most anticipated films of 2014. Featuring interviews with the director and key crew and cast members, the book tells the complete story of the making of Godzilla from concept to final frames. Comprehensive and enthralling, Godzilla: The Art of Destruction is a book that no fan will want to be without.

Director J. J. Abrams’ new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, Star Trek features a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before, as it tells the story of how the brash Starfleet cadet James T. Kirk first meets a Vulcan named Spock, and earns the Captain’s chair of the Starship Enterprise. The film quickly became a critical and commercial smash hit worldwide, as audiences — confirmed Trekkers and newcomers alike — thrilled to a state-of-the-art action epic which both respected the legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s archetypal modern myth and forged ahead into an exciting future of its own. Star Trek: The Art of the Film is a lavishly illustrated celebration of that new vision, tracing the evolution of the movie’s look through a stunning array of previously unseen pre-production paintings, concept sketches, costume and set designs, unit photography and final frames. Written by New York Times-bestselling author Mark Cotta Vaz in close co-operation with the film’s production team, and including a Foreword by J. J. Abrams, this is the essential companion to the film.