75 YEARS OF THE OSCAR: THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE ACADEMY AWARDS: 75 Years of the Oscar, the edition released for the Academy's 75th anniversary, is the official history of the Academy Awards written by film critic Robert Osborne in association with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It begins with a general history of the Academy followed by the author's lively, decade-by-decade overviews of the accomplishments, trends, and events that occurred during each ten-year period within the Academy and the film industry. The book also provides a year-by-year portrayal of the actual ceremonies, plus a complete listing of the nominees and winners in every category, making it the most comprehensive book on the subject. In addition to Osborne's text, there are personal remembrances of more than 100 Oscar winners, including Mickey Rooney, Mary Astor, Sir Laurence Olivier, Fred Zinnemann, Clint Eastwood, and Emma Thompson. The 725 candid pictures from the evening's events, stills from the movies, and original posters for every best picture round out each section. Combining Osborne's extensive knowledge and the Academy's exceptional archives, including many rarely seen photographs, this book, ideal for scholars and film buffs alike, is unrivaled in illustration, accuracy, and scope. 725 illustrations, 60 in full color.

ALL ABOUT OSCAR: THE HISTORY AND POLITICS OF THE ACADEMY AWARDS: Offering an assemblage of facts rather than a specific point of view, this survey of the Academy Awards is admirable for its breadth but tiring in its uninspired presentation. Building on his earlier Oscar Fever, film scholar Levy imparts a "sociological view of the historic, cultural, and political contexts" in which Oscar nominations are made. He explores the award from many angles, e.g., how genres have been represented, how popularity figures into the awards and what winning an Oscar means. Some of the freshest information comes in the history section, particularly in the discussions of unions and the Academy, and the ending of studio sponsorship of the Oscar ceremony. There are references galore to past Oscar ceremonies and many original observations, such as Levy's reasoning for why so many of the actors in William Wyler films were nominated for Oscars (he says it was because the films' long takes and deep focus helped actors achieve "real dramatic continuity"). But overall, the book is tedious, with many names per page and a fairly commonplace conclusion: Oscar-winning movies are often long, glossy epics. The concluding charts listing, among other things, the most nominated films and the highest-grossing Oscar winners, are welcome.