The award-winning actor takes us behind-the-scenes into his professional and private life In Just One More Thing, Peter Falk takes us on an acting journey that begins not in Hollywood but in Hartford, where he worked as a management analyst for the Connecticut State Budget Bureau. His time there was no more successful than an earlier attempt to find work with the Central Intelligence Agency. At loose ends, Falk turned to an old college interest: acting. He came to prominence as an actor in 1956 in the highly successful Off-Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards. Although he worked continuously for the next three years, bouncing from one Off-Broadway theater to the next, a theatrical agent advised him not to expect much work in motion pictures because of his glass eye. Surgeons had removed his right eye, along with a malignant tumor, when he was three years old. But in 1958, the actor made the jump to Hollywood, where he landed his first movie, Murder Incorporated, and was nominated for an Oscar. Next came Frank Capra's A Pocketful of Miracles starring Bette Davis, which garnered Falk his second Oscar nomination. Falk was a favorite among moviegoers during the 1960s, admired for his roles in classic comedies such as It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Great Race. However, it was through his collaboration with filmmaker John Cassavetes that Falk entered into his most creative period in 1970. Motion pictures such as Husbands and A Woman Under the Influence helped launch the independent film movement. Nevertheless, Falk continued to act in light film comedies, including The In-Laws and Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective and Murder by Death, among others. Yet it was through television that Falk reached his widest audience. He has portrayed the beloved Lt. Columbo since the 1970s, winning four Emmys. The series was so successful that ten years after it's demise, Columbo was re-launched, bringing Falk to a new generation of viewers. Just One More Thing also chronicles the author's later work, such as movie appearances in A Shark's Tale and Paul Reiser's The Thing About My Folks, as well stories of growing up in New York, Hollywood and Broadway luminaries, and the author's accomplished passion for drawing and painting.

On October 12, 1994, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen-three of Hollywood's biggest players-announced they would form a new studio to produce feature films, television series, and pop music recordings. It didn't have a name, though Katzenberg's reference to his partners as the "Dream Team" eventually led to the company being dubbed DreamWorks. What the three men were attempting hadn't been done in more than sixty years: create a movie studio that could compete with the already existing major players. In The Dream Team , Daniel Kimmel tells the behind-the-scenes story of DreamWorks' rise-and the end of the dream eleven years later, when most of the company was sold off or shut down. Its plan for 1,087 acres of studio facilities that would include residences and retail operations came to naught. Its animation division was split off and went public. Its principals had already begun to go their own ways. Mr. Kimmel explores DreamWorks' successes: best-picture Oscars for American Beauty and Gladiator ; a near miss (but box office success) for Saving Private Ryan ; a smash animated hit Shrek winning the first Oscar ever for best animated feature and pointing the industry toward computer animation. But he also investigates why an enterprise with such promise failed to reach the heights. Was it the company's diffuse management style, or had the industry changed and consolidated so greatly that it was now impossible for new players to break into the ranks? Mr. Kimmel offers intriguing answers, showing how, more often than not, the guys tilting at windmills usually end up on the ground.

Richie lays out such a well-thought out process regarding the way you can develop as a musician just utilizing your own talents and assembled knowledge. Pay careful attention - this man knows what he is talking about. Never before shared insights on playing jazz from one of the world's great pianists. 40 wisdom-packed pages for any instrument that you can read over a weekend and consume over a lifetime. INSIGHT TO RICHIE'S LIGHTENING-QUICK HEART TO HAND IMPROVISATION PROCESS Richie possesses a direct link between his emotions and his hands playing jazz piano. He has refined the process we're all in search of. With crystal clarity, Richie talks in-depth about developing that link. THREE MAJOR STAGES OF ARTISTIC GROWTH Your progress in becoming an accomplished artist doesn't grow in a straight line. It looks more like stair steps. Richie explains what three of those important steps are and how to be on the lookout. THE HABITS NEEDED FOR EXCELLENCE All great players worked hard on their craft. Richie was no different. Learn about the discipline and habits required of accomplished players. RICHIE'S PERSONAL RECIPE FOR REHARMONIZATION One of the world's great harmonic minds explains his thinking process for discovering the alternatives to a tune's basic harmony. Richie illustrates some of his reharmonization techniques using 'Round Midnight as an example. THE 26 MOST IMPORTANT 20th CENTURY CLASSICAL INFLUENCES Learn which 20th-century composers and pieces Richie believes are the most important influences for developing an important harmonic vocabulary. RICHIE'S TIPS FOR GREAT COMPOSITION Richie shares his most important tips for composing music that is true to you and that will resonate with your audience. HOW TO TRULY LEARN A TUNE Along with a short list of essential tunes, Richie explains the most effective way to learn a tune.