{"title":"Isaac Butler","description":"\u003cp\u003eIsaac Butler's works explore the intersections of \u003cstrong\u003earts, culture,\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cem\u003espiritual inquiry\u003c\/em\u003e, crafting thoughtful narratives that invite reflection on creativity and belief. His books often delve into the nuances of performance and the moments that define artistic expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect a thoughtful examination of how art shapes understanding and experience, blending insightful commentary with a nuanced appreciation of faith and human connection.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-method-by-isaac-butler-9781639730766","title":"The Method","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNational Book Critics Circle Award Winner, Nonfiction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed one of the Best Books of 2022 by \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVox\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e, Lit Hub, and \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Entertaining and illuminating.”--\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cem\u003e “Compulsively readable.”--\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e “Delicious, humane, probing.”--\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e * “The best and most important book about acting I’ve ever read.”--Nathan Lane\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe critically acclaimed cultural history of Method acting—an ebullient account of creative discovery and the birth of classic Hollywood.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn stage and screen, we know a great performance when we see it. But how do actors draw from their bodies and minds to turn their selves into art? What is the craft of being an authentic fake? More than a century ago, amid Tsarist Russia’s crushing repression, one of the most talented actors ever, Konstantin Stanislavski, asked these very questions, reached deep into himself, and emerged with an answer. How his “system” remade itself into the Method and forever transformed American theatre and film is an unlikely saga that has never before been fully told.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow, critic and theatre director Isaac Butler chronicles the history of the Method in a narrative that transports readers from Moscow to New York to Los Angeles, from \u003ci\u003eThe Seagull\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eA Streetcar Named Desire\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eRaging Bull\u003c\/i\u003e. He traces how a cohort of American mavericks—including Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and the storied Group Theatre—refashioned Stanislavski’s ideas for a Depression-plagued nation that had yet to find its place as an artistic powerhouse. The Group’s feuds and rivalries would, in turn, shape generations of actors who enabled Hollywood to become the global dream-factory it is today. Some of these performers the Method would uplift; others, it would destroy. Long after its mid-century heyday, the Method lives on as one of the most influential—and misunderstood—ideas in American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStudded with marquee names—from Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, and Elia Kazan, to James Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn, and Dustin Hoffman—\u003ci\u003eThe Method\u003c\/i\u003e is a spirited history of ideas and a must-read for any fan of Broadway or American film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47599727476972,"sku":"9781639730766","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/21b3f65dce4489025395bdc07e18e56a.jpg?v=1778037223"},{"product_id":"the-perfect-moment-by-isaac-butler-9781639733491","title":"The Perfect Moment","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e Best Book of 2026 So Far\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe prize-winning author of \u003cem\u003eThe Method\u003c\/em\u003e reveals the forgotten origins of America’s culture wars—a story of late 20th century art vs. censorship, brimming with intense drama and fierce moral urgency.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s 1988, the final year of the Reagan presidency, and the curtain is closing on the Cold War. In the absence of external adversaries, the American public is on the precipice of war with itself. The religious right, newly ascendant and emboldened, is determined to seize control of America’s future. And the first battles will be fought over, of all things, contemporary art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Moment\u003c\/em\u003e, cultural historian Isaac Butler reexamines this pivotal, misunderstood American era. Archconservatives like Jesse Helms, Pat Buchanan, and Pat Robertson fixed their sights on artists including Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Wojnarowicz, and Karen Finley, capitalizing on the provocative politics of their work to stir a nascent evangelical coalition into moral panic. It was at this moment, Butler argues, that the far right perfected the tactics it still uses today to whip its base into frenzy—from banning books and sanitising American history, to spreading medical misinformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAll too relevant today, \u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Moment\u003c\/em\u003e is an incisive and meticulously researched account of this crucial period and a stirring ode to the power of the creative spirit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48318071275756,"sku":"9781639733491","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/61c69e34480f37e7a248bd0e6388184e.jpg?v=1789339546"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/isaac-butler.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}