Best Selling Books by Richard Lewis

Finland: the world''s best-kept secret Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf is the story of an accomplished nation and her extraordinary people. Pursuing a "Lone Wolf" policy, Finland raised itself from a struggling, war-battered state in 1945 to one of the most developed countries in the world. The exponential rise of Nokia from tire and timbers to leading the world''s telecommunication industry is indicative of the Finns and their characteristic business style. These remarkable people speak a language unique in its origins and have kept their cultural identity intact despite the influences of powerful neighbors, Sweden and Russia. Uniquely qualified to write about Finalnd, best-selling author Richard Lewis traces the fascinating Finnish origins, as well as her history, geography, values and culture. His extensive experience with Finnish business provides him with keen insight on leadership style, negotiation strategies and the uniquely Finnish suomi-kuva (Finland image). And Lewis shines when describing Finnish humor, complete with hilarious jokes and stories. Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf shows a nation and a writer at their best.

At the age of 44, renowned comedian Richard Lewis found himself on a gurney in the ER, toxic with alcohol, and hallucinating from excess cocaine use. The same neuroses and dysfunctions that had been the basis for his successful stage persona and inspired his best material had, it seemed, turned on him. How he got there, how he finally got on the road to recovery, and how he copes with being Richard Lewis sober on a daily basis are the subjects of this very funny, deeply honest, inspiring, but very untreacly book. USA Today called it "candid and inspirational.… A journey through Lewis'' personal Inferno to eventual salvation."

Once labeled the “lot that laugher built,” the Hal Roach Studios launched the comedic careers of such screen icons as Harold Lloyd, Our Gang, and Laurel and Hardy. With this stable of stars, the Roach enterprise operated for forty-six years on the fringes of the Hollywood studio system during a golden age of cinema and gained notoriety as a producer of short comedies, independent features, and weekly television series. Many of its productions are better remembered today than those by its larger contemporaries. In A History of the Hal Roach Studios, Richard Lewis Ward meticulously follows the timeline of the company’s existence from its humble inception in 1914 to its close in 1960 and, through both its obscure and famous productions, traces its resilience to larger trends in the entertainment business. In the first few decades of the twentieth century, the motion picture industry was controlled by an elite handful of powerful firms that allowed very little room for new competition outside of their established cartel. The few independents that garnered some measure of success despite their outsider status usually did so by specializing in underserved or ignored niche markets. Here, Ward chronicles how the Roach Studios, at the mercy of exclusive distribution practices, managed to repeatedly redefine itself in order to survive for nearly a half-century in a cutthroat environment. Hal Roach’s tactic was to nurture talent rather than exhaust it, and his star players spent the prime of their careers shooting productions on his lot. Even during periods of decline or misdirection, the Roach Studios turned out genuinely original material, such as the screwball classic Topper (1937), the brutally frank Of Mice and Men (1940), and the silent experiment One Million B.C. (1940). Ward’s exploration yields insight into the production and marketing strategies of an organization on the periphery of the theatrical film industry and calls attention to the interconnected nature of the studio system during the classic era. The volume also looks to the early days of television when the prolific Roach Studios embraced the new medium to become, for a time, the premier telefilm producer. Aided by a comprehensive filmography and twenty-seven illustrations, A History of the Hal Roach Studios recounts an overlooked chapter in American cinema, not only detailing the business operations of Roach’s productions but also exposing the intricate workings of Hollywood’s rivalrous moviemaking establishment.

Poem about a bird of imagining accompanied by children''s drawings.

Barcelona One More Time is the story of an English language teacher and his Belgian partner plunged into the uncharted territory of 1970s, post-Franco Barcelona. The characters they meet and the experiences they encounter in the language school business are compellingly evoked with the very feel and colour of a place and time.

Aceh, Indonesia. December 2004. Two teens find each other surrounded by the destruction left in the wake of the most devastating tsunami the world has ever seen: Ruslan, a native of Aceh, in search of his missing father, whom he hopes has not been added to the fallen; and Sarah, an American girl, who has already lost her mother and is now struggling to find medical treatment for her sick brother. Only together can they find what they''re searching for.

''Advanced Financial Accounting'' provides a comprehensive treatment of current financial reporting in the UK and is the leading textbook for 2nd and 3rd year courses in universities. Basic and advanced questions are provided at the end of the book.