Scott Phillips

The landscape of contemporary Paris, the best restaurants, the trendiest bars and clubs, is usually filled with the wealthy, the famous, and le rake or le roue, the charming, educated sophisticate with little or no conscience. Into this cushy world bursts  Dr. Crandall Taylor"  or rather the actor who plays him  the star of a dated American soap opera that is now one of the hottest primetime shows in France. And this newfound fame, as enriching as it is unexpected, is not wasted on Crandall, eager to put his dark and often violent American past behind him and enjoy all the fruits  and the women  that Paris and fame have to offer him. But TV fame isn't enough. Randall wants a feature film. Every actor wants a feature film, and so Crandall uses his charm and intellect to draw into his narcissistic web four different women: an executive at the network that runs his show; an American porn star reaching new heights on the internet; a bookish university student with a slightly nasty bent; and the beautiful would-be actress wife of an arms dealer. Against his better judgment, Crandall accepts both the arms dealer's cash and his beautiful wife's advances. Soon, Crandall is on the run through the alleys and streets of Paris, trying not only to fund a film but simply to stay alive. But this is no ordinary chase  and Crandall is no ordinary mouse  and soon his penchant for violence, sex, and megalomania erupts into full blown war. Rake is the latest noir classic from the author of The Ice Harvest. It features a charming, despicable anti-hero and a funny, satiric take on modern entertainment culture. Phillips turns his gimlet eye on the lush life of an actor who, on his destructive tour through Paris, crosses the line from garden variety narcissism into full-fledged psycopathy.

Although John Templeton (1912–2008) simply considered himself a bargain hunter, those in the know on Wall Street considered him one of the greatest stock pickers of the twentieth century. Anyone prudent enough to have invested $10,000 in his Templeton Growth Fund when it was first established in 1954 would today have over $7 million to their name if they left those funds alone. Few mutual funds can match that kind of spectacular and consistent performance. How did he do it? What kind of principles guided his decisions through bull and bear markets? What was the secret to his success? Fortunately, generosity was one of Templeton’s defining characteristics, and he freely shared his investing wisdom with the world in The Templeton Touch. This edition, which has been greatly expanded and revised from the original 1983 publication, gives the reader an inside look at the mindset that made Templeton a Wall Street legend. His global focus, his relentless curiosity, his future-mindedness, his personal touch with clients, his willingness to take reasonable risks, his reliance on deep research and fundamental analysis- everything that set him apart from the crowd is covered here in great detail by authorized biographer William Proctor. This updated edition also contains a new section comprised of twenty-two interviews with those who knew and worked with Templeton, conducted by Scott Phillips. Among those interviewed are business luminaries like Jim Rogers, Julian Robertson, Steve Forbes, Prem Watsa, Mason Hawkins, and Michael Price. The Templeton Touch should be required reading for any investor, from the absolute novice to the most experienced. Not only could Templeton’s practical advice help guide investors through tricky market conditions, but the many insights into his character and his philosophies could help anyone live a more successful life.

The war is over, but that doesn't mean things are getting better for PR man Wayne Ogden or any of the returning vets. The town of Wichita, Kansas built around the industry of Collins Aircraft and its wealthy founder, Everett Collins is not how they remember it. Against the background violence committed by the returning soldiers trying to make an adjustment back into civilian life, Wayne attempts to destroy his former mentor and take down Collins Aircraft the once fabled company that provided planes to Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Wiley Post. All along the way he is haunted by poison pen letters, anonymously sent, that carry threats alluding to his black market work as a supply sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps. As the letters reveal more and more of Wayne's secretive wartime past, his plan to destroy Collins and his company takes an increasingly darker turn that leads to blackmail, extortion, and murder. Phillips expertly crafts an instant noir classic that presents the birth of a postwar American criminal.

The war is over, but that doesn't mean things are getting better. For PR man Wayne Ogden or any of the returning vets. The town of Wichita, Kansas built around the industry of Collins Aircraft and its wealthy founder, Everett Collins is not how they remember it. Against the background violence committed by the returning soldiers trying to make an adjustment back into civilian life, Wayne attempts to destroy his former mentor and take down Collins Aircraft the once fabled company that provided planes to Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Wiley Post. All along the way he is haunted by poison pen letters, anonymously sent, that carry threats alluding to his black market work as a supply sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps. As the letters reveal more and more of Wayne's secretive wartime past, his plan to destroy Collins and his company takes an increasingly darker turn that leads to blackmail, extortion, and murder. Phillips expertly crafts an instant noir classic that presents the birth of a postwar American criminal.

"BITTERLY FUNNY . . . A] SLEEK FIRST NOVEL . . . NOIR CRIME . . . HAS FOUND A STERLING NEW CHAMPION IN PHILLIPS."-The New York Times Book Review"A FUTURE HARD-BOILED CLASSIC-TIGHT, COLD, AND CACKLING WITH IRONY. On Christmas Eve in Wichita], a mob lawyer is skipping town with the cash. But in this boozy, neo-noir world-James M. Cain meets George V. Higgins-the best-laid plans of bagmen turn brutal."-The Dallas Morning News"OMINOUS, ACTION-PACKED. . . This is a confident, wry debut . . . that] may remind readers of Fargo or Pulp Fiction." -Detroit Free Press"I SIMPLY CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT SCOTT PHILLIPS WILL DO NEXT. This] funny, tough first novel felt like it was written by an old pro, an Elmore Leonard we've never heard about who's discovered a place where the criminals are really dumb, the low-lifes are oh-so-fun to watch and, if somebody just happens to get what he deserves, there's no one to blame."-RICHARD RUSSO Author of Straight Man "A DARKLY COMIC, SOMETIMES BRUTAL PIECE OF NOIR FICTION."-The Denver PostFinalist for the Hammett Prize