In a contemporary twist on the old "road not taken" dilemma, Shriver delivers a clever tale where both roads are taken at the same time! Americans Irina and Lawrence have been living together in London for nine years in an "almost married" state. Each year they celebrate the birthday of their friend, Ramsey, with Ramsey and his wife. Eventually, after five years, Ramsey is divorced and Lawrence is out of town for the birthday dinner. So, Irina and Ramsey have dinner alone and, after drinking too much wine, end up back at Ramsey's house. At this point the book splits into two parallel narratives. In one, Irina begins a passionate affair with the charming but irresponsible Ramsey and eventually leaves Lawrence. In the other, she turns her back on temptation and returns to a predictable, but stable life with Lawrence. This a great book for anyone who has ever wondered if the grass really is greener on the other side

Robin Harvey

In the mid 1960s Hollywood was at a crossroads. On the one side were the old time producers and directors who wanted to keep on making big budget musicals or star studded dramas the way they had been doing for years. On the other side were young directors, many fresh from the theater world in New York, who were fascinated by European New Wave cinema, and, increasingly, by innovations coming out of "swinging London". Nothing epitomized these diametrically opposed views about where Hollywood was headed than the movies nominated for 1967's Best Picture Oscar. Harris, who writes for "Entertainment Weekly", follows the development of each of the films from inception to completion with all of the false starts, re-writes, and personality clashes set against the civil rights strife, and the emerging sexual revolution of the period. If you are a movie buff, you will love this book. If not, you will still be fascinated at this behind-the scenes look at the following: "Dr. Doolittle"; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"; "The Graduate"; "Bonnie and Clyde" and "In the Heat of the Night". Here's a bit of trivia to whet your appetite. Did you know that the roles of Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin in "The Graduate" were originally going to be played by Doris Day and Robert Redford?

Robin Harvey