The definitive history of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga, Anything You Can Imagine takes us on a cinematic journey across all six films, featuring brand-new interviews with Peter, his cast & crew. From the early days of daring to dream it could be done, through the highs and lows of making the films, to fan adoration and, finally, Oscar glory.

Authorised and fully illustrated insight into the life and career of the award-winning director, from his childhood film projects up to King Kong, together with Jackson's revealing personal account of his six-year quest to film The Lord of the Rings.

This fascinating look at the now-celebrated director tells of the inspiration that led to the making of the three world-famous Lord of the Rings films - and the six other films that preceded them. This unauthorized biography, Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings, traces the journey of a young movie fanatic, from Sunday afternoons spent fooling around with a camera, through low-budget cult movies, to control of the most ambitious film project ever, on what is probably the best-loved fantasy novel ever written. This in-depth biography explores the many talents of the young Peter Jackson: the making of Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Braindead, Heavenly Creatures, Forgotten Silver, The Frighteners, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story behind the Rings - which tells how Jackson got the rights to make the film and the permission and funding to make three films rather than collapsing the story into just one or two films, interviews, and other behind-the-scenes material from the making of the landmark films. Past and future - in which author Ian Pryor considers Jackson's achievements and possible future - including his remake of King Kong. From casts of zombies, traumatized puppets and murderous teenagers, to deal-making in Hollywood, this book is about following one's visions wherever they might lead.

Chronicling the making of all seven feature films in which King Kong has appeared - including the Peter Jackson film due for release in December 2005 - this book includes coverage of all the original films as well as the many variants and offshoots.

Born to former slaves on St. Croix in 1860, Peter Jackson made his name as a boxer with his smooth, fast style and a dangerous one-two combination. After immigrating to Australia, Jackson became that country's national heavyweight champion in 1886 before moving on to the United States and claiming the title of Colored Champion of the World in 1888. For the next ten years Peter Jackson remained undefeated, finally losing to the great Jim Jeffries in 1898. Although he never received a shot at the heavyweight title--reigning heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan refused to defend his title against a black man--Jackson remains one of the greatest heavyweights ever.

The Mongols had a huge impact on medieval Europe and the Islamic world. This book provides a comprehensive survey of contacts between the Catholic West and the Mongol world-empire from the first appearance of Chinggis Khan’s armies in 1221 down to the death of Tamerlane (1405) and the battle of Tannenberg (1410). This book considers the Mongols as allies as well as conquerors; the perception of them in the West; the papal response to the threat (and opportunity) they presented; the fate of the Frankish principalities in the Holy Land in the path of the Mongol onslaught; Western European embassies and missions to the East; and the impact of the Mongols on the expanding world view of the maturing Middle Ages. For courses in crusading history and medieval European history.

This innovative book marks a significant departure from tradition anlayses of the evolution of cultural landscapes and the interpretation of past environments. Maps of Meaning proposes a new agenda for cultural geography, one set squarely in the context of contemporary social and cultural theory. Notions of place and space are explored through the study of elite and popular cultures, gender and sexuality, race, language and ideology. Questioning the ways in which we invest the world with meaning, the book is an introduction to both culture's geographies and the geography of culture.