Michael Schulman’s Favorite Books about Hollywood’s Light Side and Dark Side
On the occasion of the 2024 Academy Award nominations, we asked Oscar Wars author and New Yorker critic Michael Schulman about his favorite books about Hollywood. From gritty Hollywood true crime to the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, these are the best reads for Oscar season - including Schulman's own acclaimed history of Hollywood now coming out in paperback!
7 books
Schulman's own definitive history of the glamor, scandal, grit and glamor of Hollywood is the perfect Oscar season read - Out in Paperback this February. 
Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears
Michael SchulmanGraydon Carter described it best: "On Oscar night, the true intrigues, hysterics and heartbreaks aren't just in the films being honored, but in the behind the scenes jockeying for the awards. Schulman has the perfect eye and ear for the telling and entertaining dramas and light comedies leading up to Oscar victory."
Hardcover, 2023
$40.00$20.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
What Makes Sammy Run?
Budd SchulbergBudd Schulberg’s 1941 novel traces the rise of Sammy Glick, a relentless climber who claws his way from junior screenwriter to studio kingpin. It’s a pitiless look at the lust for power in Hollywood.
Naomi Fry & Benjamin DreyerPaperback, 1993
$19.00$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'n Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Peter BiskindPeter Biskind’s rollicking 1998 classic tracks the rise and fall of the New Hollywood revolution from the late 60s through the 70s, with a rambunctious cast of characters including Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, and Spielberg. Juicy and invigorating.
Alissa Wilkinson & Sam FreedmanPaperback, 1999
$22.00$11.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
Mark HarrisMark Harris’s 2008 book brilliantly deconstructs the Best Picture race of 1968, telling a story of countercultural upheaval through the making of five films: Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Doolittle, The Graduate, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
Steven Hyden & Alissa WilkinsonPaperback, 2009
$17.00$8.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman
Sam WassonOf all the making-of-a-movie chronicles, Sam Wasson’s slim 2010 book about Breakfast at Tiffany’s is my favorite. It takes a nostalgic look back on a glamorous era while capturing the charm and style of the movie itself.
Paperback, 2021
$17.99$8.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
William J. MannIf you love true crime, William J. Mann delivers in this 2014 book about the notorious 1922 murder of the silent-era director William Desmond Taylor. It reads like a murder-mystery novel while providing insightful background on the era.
Paul Greenberg & Earthlight BooksPaperback, 2015
$21.99$10.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood
Maureen RyanMaureen Ryan’s book about Hollywood in the #MeToo age, which came out last year, is fueled by deep reporting and righteous anger. Ryan is unsparing about the abuses that the industry has tolerated for too long yet clear-eyed about the way forward.
Hardcover, 2023
$32.50$16.25 + Free shipping50% off your first book